Election 2013: Privacy and surveillance
Following revelations of the extent that the US Government accesses what was seemingly private data on our internet activity, the spotlight moved to the Australian Government’s complicity in this sort of surveillance and how much it carries out on its own.
Labor:
Refused to comment on whether it has access to information obtained by the NSA
Attorney General’s Department says that without access to metadata to quickly rule out suspects, it may be forced to use more intrusive measures
Coalition:
Communications Spokesman Malcolm Turnbull has indicated his support for an international agreement honest global discourse on cyber espionage
Greens:
Called for full disclosure of surveillance agreements between governments, intelligence agencies and service providers
Called for 2007 changes to the Telecommunications Interception Act to be reversed so that intelligence agencies are required to obtain a warrant to access telecommunications metadata
Joined by smaller parties (Pirate Party Australia, The Greens, WikiLeaks Party, Electronic Frontiers Australia) who have also spoken out against electronic surveillance
