So many topics this week. Shoddy work from Home Affairs. Shoddy IT procurement. Surveillance. Digital identity. Data breaches. And pigs. Feral pigs. FERAL PIGS!
Here’s what I’ve noticed since the previous edition on 4 August.
- Two new security-related bills hit the House of Representatives. The Counter-Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 intends to “implement part of the government response to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security’s (PJCIS) review of police powers in relation to terrorism, the control order regime, the preventative detention order regime and the continuing detention order regime”.
- And the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment Bill 2023, which went straight through the process and is already law, “amends sections 65 and 137 of the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 (TIA Act) to ensure information obtained under section 11A, 11B and 11C warrants (‘foreign intelligence information’) can be communicated, used and recorded to protect Australia’s national security.”
- “Attorney-general Mark Dreyfus has officially wrested back ownership of key enabling legislation needed to make forthcoming new digital identity laws compatible with a stalled national biometric facial matching system,” reports The Mandarin.
- Also from The Mandarin, “Minister for government services Bill Shorten has taken the cudgels to Canberra’s incumbent technology big vendor community, telling it that the Albanese government won’t stand for long-term lock-ins and intends to build its own cadre of tech troops to deliver user-centric services and digital identity.” And rightly so, because also in Shorten’s portfolio…
- “A $191 million entitlements calculation engine (ECE) built for Centrelink had processed just 784 claims by late June this year, before it was written off by the government a month later,” reports iTnews.
- NBN Co misses fibre upgrade target by 42 percent.”
- The Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) faces an extended period of scrutiny after a damaging audit last year found it “ineffective” at IT procurement, one of its core functions.”
- Home affairs tried to water down report critical of ‘extraordinary’ counter-terror powers, documents reveal, reports the Guardian. “Department engaged researchers to review its preventive detention of terrorists, only to attempt to remove their most serious criticisms.”
- “Australia’s home affairs department kept no real-time records of ChatGPT use, raising ‘serious security concerns’.”
- A survey by the Office of The Australian Information Commissioner says that data breaches are seen as the number one privacy concern.
- Bureau of Meteorology super computer delays ‘very concerning’ ahead of summer.
- And finally, from Sydney rather than Canberra but this is a major breakthrough. Oink! “The search is on for the ideal candidate to become the first NSW State Feral Pig Coordinator, with applications for the position now open.” There’s nothing worse than uncoordinated feral pigs.
Please let me know if I’ve missed anything, or if there’s any specific items you’d like me to follow. Parliament is now on a break until Monday 4 September.
If you’ve been finding this series of posts useful, please consider throwing a tip into the tip jar.
[Photo: Government services minister Bill Shorten.]