How high-speed wireless compares to cable in boosting our internet speeds
What’s needed is bipartisan commitment to accelerating NBN deployment along with modernising the infrastructure in the core network that will have to support increased access to broadband.
Government closes in on legislation over serious data breaches
The government has released an exposure draft of a bill that will define what it considers a 'serious' data breach and place notification requirements on some businesses or organisations should they suffer from such an attack.
The Inside Track: DataStart is much older and smarter than it looks
The truth is that those criticising DataStart as a lightweight program are off the mark. I like Stilgherrian, but in this case he's wrong. Behind the scenes, this initiative involves a great deal more than it appears to on the surface, and it wasn't put together overnight. It may never set the world on fire. But for a few Prime Minister keen to get some wins, DataStart may eventually turn out to be the little engine that could.
Atlassian loses out to CommBank in Australian Technology Park bid
The Commonwealth Bank has beaten off its main rival to acquire and redevelop the Australian Technology Park (ATP), following a successful bid by a Mirvac Group-led consortium.
Julie Bishop wants to store Australian passports in “the cloud”
With Malcolm Turnbull's ascension to the Prime Ministership, sometimes your writer feels as though the whole Federal Government has gone technology-mad. It's a good feeling -- so much is being discussed at high levels that the technology sector has been trying to get on the table for years -- but things are also getting deeply, deeply weird.
NBN Senate Committee will hold hearings next week … without NBN Co
The Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network has resolved to hold hearings in Parliament House in Canberra next Friday 4 March, but has opted to hear from a diverse range of witnesses in academia and industry, without the presence of its usual target, the NBN company.
Hope for Ludlam as WA recount confirmed
The electoral fate of Greens Senator and Communications Spokesperson Scott Ludlam is likely to hang in the balance for some time yet, following confirmation yesterday by the Australian Electoral Commission that it would conduct a partial recount of the Western Australian Senate vote in the Federal Election.
Now Jason Clare writes to ABC over Nick Ross ‘gag’
Shadow Communications Minister Jason Clare has stated that he is "very concerned" about claims that the ABC gagged its former technology editor from reporting on the NBN, and has joined his Victorian counterpart Philip Dalidakis in demanding answers from ABC managing director Mark.
NBN launches first FTTN connections in Victoria
The NBN's first fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) services have launched in Victoria, bringing upgraded internet services to thousands more homes and businesses in the state.
NBN rejects analysis: FTTP rollout to take “significantly longer”
The NBN company has called into question the validity of a detailed value analysis by a Monash University researcher, stating that a full Fibre to the Premises rollout would take significantly longer to achieve in Australia than its current Multi-Technology Mix model.
Turnbull’s Dept says ACCC could delay NBN migrations
A war of words has erupted between the ACCC and Malcolm Turnbull’s Department of Communications, with the department claiming a pricing decision by the regulator has the potential to delay Australians migrating to next-generational National Broadband Network infrastructure.
Insight: FTTdp is probably Turnbull’s election NBN policy
The NBN company's secret plan to cut the cost of its Local Fibre Network and trial FTTdp gives Turnbull an election option. Packaging the two ideas together will allow the Member for Wentworth to promise to deliver an NBN that has FTTP-like speeds, while still coming close to matching the cost and rollout timing of FTTN.
NBN Co, Telstra help Greg Hunt out with election campaign event
The NBN company join Telstra at an election campaign event to be held by Environment Minister Greg Hunt in his electorate of Flinders in late March, Delimiter can reveal, in a move that further calls into question the NBN company's independence in the pre-election period.
Conroy bushwhacks Fifield with NBN transparency reform
Former Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has blindsided the Government in the Senate, successfully passing an amendment to an otherwise innocuous piece of NBN legislation that will enforce a degree of radical transparency on the NBN company.
ACMA proposes changes to spectrum rules to open up Internet of Things
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is proposing changes to spectrum rules in order to allow Internet of Things (IoT) devices to 'talk' to each other.
iiNet’s Hollywood ending: what does its court victory mean for copyright law?
In what is being billed as iiNet versus Hollywood, the Australian internet service provider has come out an apparent winner after the High Court dismissed a copyright infringement case brought by industry movie studios. Nicolas Suzor, lecturer, Faculty of Law at Queensland University of Technology, explains the decision and what it means.
Watch: 1800km of new copper ‘simply part of NBN architecture’, says Turnbull
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has defended the NBN company’s purchase of 1800km of brand new copper from repeated attacks by the Opposition in Question Time, telling the Parliament yesterday that the copper cable was “simply part of the architecture” of the NBN company’s new Multi-Technology Mix approach.
Telstra “unable” to sell South Brisbane FTTP to NBN Co
Negotiations appear to have broken down over the planned sale of Telstra’s Fibre to the Premises network in South Brisbane to the NBN company, with the Government stating that Telstra has been “unable” to reach an agreement for the infrastructure to become part of the National Broadband Network.
US doesn’t want Assange, says ambassador
Remember those high-handed statements and protests which erupted last week in Australia about the possibility of Australian citizen Julian Assange being extradited from Sweden to the US? Well, it turns out the US actually has no interest in extraditing the Wikileaks founder.
‘Too busy’: Attorney-General refuses election interview on online rights issues
Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has flatly refused to take part in a live election interview on key technology issues in his portfolio, such as copyright reform, data retention, telecommunications surveillance and Internet piracy, stipulating instead that all questions on the issues must be submitted in writing.
NSW wants to ban smartphone, tablets, from courts
The New South Wales State Government has flagged plans to amend court security legislation to ban the use of devices such as smartphones and tablets to communicate events inside courtrooms to those outside, in a move that could squash see a trend towards using Twitter to report court events live.
Would FYX’s global mode have breached copyright?
We should think carefully about the inevitable alarmist claims regarding FYX and be wary about movie industry calls for new laws that protect their interests at the expense of Australian consumers.
Australian retailers online: Late to the party and much to do
Australian consumers are embracing digital commerce, but Australian retailers are failing to build long-term relationships with their customers online, according to new research.
ABC embroiled in copyright debate over iview
The ABC has found itself caught up in a copyright debate after it forced the removal of an application that enabled people to download and watch programs offered on its iview service.
Turnbull announces digital boost for farming industry
The Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced three new initiatives lead by the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) that are aimed to bring agriculture fully into the digital age.
Consumer group ACCAN outlines telecoms priorities at Parliament House
The Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) held its Meet the People Forum at Parliament House in Canberra yesterday to lay out its telecoms priorities for 2016.
Two years later, NBN Co finally launches FTTN
The NBN company today took a major step towards its goal of implementing the Multi-Technology Mix approach which Malcolm Turnbull has brought to the project, formally launching its Fibre to the Node product as an option to retail broadband providers some two years after the 2013 Federal Election.
“Failure and incompetence”: Mark Newton on surveillance reforms
At Delimiter we love a good rant, especially if it’s about the tragically flawed understanding which our Federal Government and attendant politicans appear to have about technology. And this one, by network engineer Mark Newton (he’s got form in this area) is a cracker.
Truth: The MTM NBN business case is unravelling by the day
Senator Mitch Fifield has only been Communications Minister a matter of months. And yet, if his performance in the Senate this afternoon is any indication, he has already gotten to the point of attacking anyone who dares to even question the Government's controversial Multi-Technology Mix NBN model.
Labor, Coalition avoid data retention debate
Australia’s two major sides of politics have avoided substantially discussing the Federal Government’s controversial data retention and surveillance package, in a Senate debate stimulated yesterday by Greens Senator Scott Ludlam, who described the privacy issues involved as “deadly serious”.
Australia extends global Internet piracy lead
Australia has dramatically extended its lead over other countries when it comes to the levels of Australians pirating popular US television shows, according to new statistics released overnight by TorrentFreak, with the limited availability of such content in Australia believed to be driving the trend.
Introducing Australia’s (eventual) game classification system
Those of you with a long memory will recall that Australia’s video game classification systems hasn’t precisely always been without controversy. Well, in what looks like a good move on the surface, Australia appears set to join a new international system for video game classification.
Rod Tucker’s right: Turnbull’s MTM model will leave Australia behind
University of Melbourne academic Rod Tucker attracted strident criticism this week for his claim that Malcolm Turnbull’s Multi-Technology Mix approach to the National Broadband Network will result in Australia remaining an “Internet backwater”. However, the unfortunate reality is that Tucker’s comments are all too accurate.
Tech can help Australians achieve life goals, says NBN report
NBN Co has released a new report that takes a look at Australia’s top life goals and how technology can help us achieve them.
Why the drop in illegal movie downloads in Australia?
This article is by Marc C-Scott, Lecturer in Screen Media, Victoria University. It originally appeared on The Conversation.
analysis There has been a decline in...
Instant scope creep: Parliament recommends ATO data retention access
The Parliament’s Joint Committee on Law Enforcement has recommended the Australian Taxation Office be added to the list of agencies able to access data retention under Australia’s new data retention legislation, as part of a report that also recommended other technological measures to curb financial crime.
‘Gross abuse of power’: IPA columnist condemns ASIC filtering
It seems that the move by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to unilaterally decide to start blocking websites it deems to have illegal material has outraged basically everyone with any interest in the Internet in Australia. Perhaps one of the most outraged is Chris Berg, a research fellow with the Institute of Public Affairs, a long-time advocate for free speech, and, dare we say it, a thorn in the side of powerful government authorities exceeding their mandate.
Google’s Ingress creates Aussie online turf war
Don’t read technology blogs? Then a new innovation in massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMPORGs) may be passing you by. Perhaps, like me, such games have never been of much interest to you. Or perhaps they haven’t been able to hold your sustained attention. So why should you care now?
‘War’ on tax avoidance overlooks some obvious legal fixes
This article is by Antony Ting, Associate Professor, University of Sydney. It originally appeared on The Conversation.
opinion/analysis The war on tax avoidance by multinational...
Megaupload founder denied bail again
Following a hearing today at the High Court in New Zealand, Kim Dotcom was again denied bail. The Megaupload founder, who authorities insist will likely flee should he be released, told the court that he’d been kicked and punched by police during his arrest.
Turnbull’s NBN “hardly on target”, says Labor
The Australian Labor Party has criticised a Government statement saying NBN Co has "exceeded" its targets for the financial year 2016, suggesting that the national broadband network is actually "hardly on target".
NBN reaches 1 million customer milestone
The Government has announced that the National Broadband Network (NBN) has now passed the 1 million customer mark.
New policy: Labor would dump FTTN for FTTP, keep HFC
The Opposition today released a new National Broadband Network policy for the Federal Election, with Labor committing to dumping the Coalition's Fibre to the Node plans and supporting Fibre to the Premises instead, but keeping the other HFC cable, satellite and wireless aspects of the current plan.
Truth: Turnbull didn’t “fix” the NBN, Mr Fletcher — he turned it into a...
Malcolm Turnbull didn’t “fix” the National Broadband Network … but he did do an extraordinarily successful job at turning what was formerly a visionary nation-building project into an incredibility politicised, tragic mess.
Govt opens debate on children’s online safety
The Federal Government has issued a detailed discussion paper canvassing various options through which it can deal with the issue of children's safety on the Internet, including the potential establishment of a children's e-safety commissioner, developing an effective complaints system to deal with offensive material on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, and even the potential establishment of a new cyber-bullying offence.
US ambassador begs Australians: Stop pirating Game of Thrones
US Ambassador to Australia Jeffrey Bleich has published an impassioned statement appealing to Australians to stop breaching the copyright of US cable giant HBO by illegally downloading its popular Game of Thrones television show in record numbers.
Telcos and Govt in TSSR “unity ticket”, claims Turnbull
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has claimed that the telecommunications industry and the Government are on a “unity ticket” with respect to the new tranche of national security-related telco reforms, despite sharp disagreement from the industry and a recent history of the Government ignoring industry concern on such issues.
Budget 2016: The Govt is kind of obsessed with FinTech
The Government has continued its ongoing focus on boosting Australia's growing financial technology (FinTech) sector in this year's Federal Budget, announcing a range of initiatives to bolster the area.
Q&A panellists agree: Politicians have completely screwed up the NBN
A trio of independent technology experts on the ABC's Q and A program last night heavily criticised Australia's political sector for politicising, lying about, and ultimately destroying the all-fibre National Broadband Network they agreed the country needed to progress its innovative future.
Dyson Heydon doesn’t have a PC … but he does have an iPhone 5
You may recall how earlier this week it was revealed that Dyson Heydon, former High Court judge and now head of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption, had admitted he did not use a computer at either of his offices and did not know how to send and receive emails. Well, the plot thickens.
Watch: Conroy’s NBN transparency reform a “legislative stunt”, says Fifield
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has labelled Stephen Conroy's successful amendments to force a radical degree of transparency on the NBN company as being a "legislative stunt" from the Labor Senator he said was still serving as the defacto Shadow Communications Minister.
High Court doesn’t feel the Optus vibe
The High Court has knocked back Optus' request to appeal its lost case against sporting groups the NRL, AFL and rival telco Telstra over Optus' TV Now cloud TV recording service, spelling the end of the ongoing legal action on the issue.
Secret anti-piracy talks pointless, says iiNet
National broadband provider iiNet has fired a full barrage of vitriol at the content industry on the morning on which closed door talks held by the Government on the issue are due to re-commence, arguing in a highly public blog post that discussing a path forward with content industry groups was like "talking to a brick wall".
Opening Pandora’s box: secret treaty threatens human rights
The Australian Parliament should reject ACTA because of its impact on human rights – particularly taking into account health care, access to medicines, and development.
Photos: Nodes Behaving Badly (when FTTN placement goes wrong)
Today, Delimiter is proud to present a photo gallery entitled Nodes Behaving Badly, in which we highlight some of the worst Fibre to the Node infrastructure placement that Australia has to offer.
ACCC letting NBN descend into retail “market failure”, says Macquarie
Top-tier business telco Macquarie Telecom has accused the ACCC of having little idea of what is going on in the competitive NBN market, in the wake of comments made by the competition regulator that it was not planning re-examine its controversial decision to set the number of points of interconnect with the NBN at 121.
Fifield knew about AFP NBN investigation from the start
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield today admitted he was told about the Australian Federal Police investigation launched in December into leaks from the NBN company, in a admission which directly contradicts a statement by the AFP Commissioner yesterday that the Government did not know of the investigation.
FTTN still causing massive outages in Newcastle, says Labor
The Coalition's Fibre to the Node technology is still causing substantial problems for the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Labor said today, with issues such as speeds slower than ADSL and substantial outages, even for residents who are not yet connected to the NBN.
Turnbull blames IBM, ABS for Census website failure
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has put some the blame for the failure of the Census website on the shoulders of IBM, saying the measures the firm put in place for the functioning of the site were "inadequate". However, the ABS also came in for some flak.
Home truths: Baxter points out how ridiculous NBN speed tiers truly are
One of Australia's most successful and experienced technology entrepreneurs has published an extraordinary analysis of the NBN company's technical model, highlighting the sheer stupidity of speed tiers on a fiber network which offers essentially unlimited speeds, as well as a wide range of other obvious problems.
Why Pirate Party members are not ‘whiny brats’
There appears to be an assumption within the broader intellectual property industries that members of Pirate Parties are just whiny brats who “want everything for free.” They consider us uneducated idiots who have not really given any thought into what we advocate. I find this odd.
4.6 million jobs “at risk” without future-ready workforce
According to StartupAUS, an advocacy group for startups, up to 4.6 million Australian jobs may be at risk within a decade if Australia fails to create a future-ready workforce.
Truth: Google Fiber shows how great a FTTP NBN could be
Labor's original version of the NBN would have delivered the broadband capability which the global technology industry agrees will be needed for the future. It would have done so in the public interest, with the aim of delivering nation-building infrastructure, and it would have done so using a unified technology platform: The best technology platform.
Internet piracy code stalls on costs
Three months after the deadline set by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the telecommunications and content industries are still deadlocked on who will pay for the cost of administering their co-developed industry code to deal with Internet piracy.
Budget 2016: StartupAUS says it’s a “disappointment”
StartupAUS, an advocacy group, has cautiously welcomed some announcements made in the Federal Government’s 2016 Budget, but said that overall it was a "disappointment for startups".
Author John Birmingham quits eBook DRM
Australian author John Birmingham dumps eBook DRM.
Fifield misleads Senate on Labor’s NBN policy history
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield appears to have this afternoon inadvertently misled the Senate regarding the history of the Labor Party's National Broadband Network policy, falsely alleging that the party had not considered re-using existing network infrastructure during the development of the policy.
The sharp end of copyright policy: Village Roadshow will sue Internet pirates, block websites
Film distributor Village Roadshow has officially confirmed it will take legal action to both sue alleged Internet pirates and block websites which host pirated material, in moves which signal the start of the implementation phase for the Government’s controversial policies on Internet copyright infringement.
Plibersek data retention support “shameful”: Ludlam
Greens Communications Spokesperson Scott Ludlam has labelled the revelation this week of relatively unqualified support for data retention and mass surveillance by Tanya Plibersek as "shameful", accusing the Deputy Labor Leader of being naive or manipulative in public statements made on the issue.
Senior editor for The Australian backs data retention
We don’t pretend to know what goes on in the minds of journalists who work for News Ltd, but sometimes some really quite unexpected views appear in their articles. A perfect example is this (paywalled) article by Greg Sheridan, Foreign Editor of News Ltd newspaper The Australian backing Labor’s extremely controversial data retention scheme.
‘No worries’: Carr unconcerned about NSA spying
Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr said over the weekend that he "wouldn't think" Australians had anything to be concerned about in relation to the NSA Internet spy scandal which engulfed the United States last week, despite the fact that the issue appears to exclusively relate to NSA access to foreigners' data on US cloud computing servers.
Devil’s Advocate: What if the MTM NBN actually turns out to be great?
I've spent most of the past three years on Malcolm Turnbull's Multi-Technology Mess, and it's actually been kind of great. Will the complaints about the MTM die away as it's rolled out Australia-wide?
Fletcher praises Turnbull’s “very competent” NBN stewardship
Government frontbencher Paul Fletcher has praised Malcolm Turnbull's stewardship of the National Broadband Network project in response to sustained criticism from the Opposition, stating yesterday that the project was on track and that Turnbull had done a "very competent" job of reforming it.
They did it
From this day on, whenever Australian engineers are facing a tough task, they should look up into the skies and remind themselves of the power of the Australian mind. If Australian ingenuity can put such a hunk of incredibly complex communications infrastructure into orbit to serve our broadband needs, purely on the strength of some clear thinking and a lot of hard work, then we truly can do anything. And we will.
Truth: Expect a post-election Australian anti-encryption bill
The Federal Government is clearly right now engaged in the early stages of seeding the Australian public with the idea that tough new anti-encryption laws are something we need to stop terrorists.
Qld Police get remote CCTV access on iPads
The Queensland Government has unveiled plans to deploy new technology that will allow Brisbane police officers to view live CCTV footage from cameras in public areas on their iPads or smartphones while working their beat, in a move being billed as helping to keep those of the city's residents 'who are doing the right thing' safe.
Copper rapidly losing ground to fibre in global broadband figures
IT market intelligence provider Point Topic has released new figures revealing that the numbers of people using fixed broadband globally climbed in the third quarter of 2015, with the numbers using copper-based technologies to connect taking a sharp downturn and fibre rapidly on the way up.
Monitor, Police, Control: Australian Attorney-Generals’ war on the Internet
Australia's two most recent Attorneys-General distinguished themselves during their tenure by demonstrating a complete lack of understanding of the dynamics of the modern Internet; seeking to monitor, control and contain it at all costs. Now they've both announced plans to quit politics. Will our next chief lawmaker do any better?
Google Play Music finally hits Australia
Were you there when Apple’s iTunes Music Store first launched in Australia? I was. It was back in October 2005 and I was a journalist at technology news site ZDNet Australia. At the time it was a huge deal for Australian music fans, who had previously been resorting to naughty platforms such as Napster to get their digital music fix on. Well, things have changed a lot in the IT industry, but the iTunes Music Store is still around and kicking. Now it’s got a new competitor: Google.
“Extortion”: Pirate Party slams piracy letters
The Pirate Party of Australia has described as "extortion as a business model" action by a Sydney-based law firm which has seen Australian ISPs issued with a series of letters requesting they hand over the details of users who have allegedly used peer to peer file sharing platforms to pirate content owned by the firm's clients.
Watch: TPP makes a “farce” of democracy, says Greens Senator
Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson has labelled the democratic process around the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty as being a "farce", with the Government having failed to conduct a detailed public interest analysis into the treaty, and Federal Parliament blocked from modifying the agreement at all.
Now it gets interesting: Australia has its first digitally literate Prime Minister
Australia has never before in its history had a digitally literate Prime Minister of the likes of Malcolm Turnbull.
Spotify finally launches in Australia
news In the realisation of one of the worst-kept secrets in Australia's new media and technology sectors, Swedish music streaming Spotify has launched locally,...
New analysis shows FTTN NBN areas significantly delayed
Analysis conducted on the NBN company's latest set of rollout plans has shown that around 105 areas currently slated to receive the Coalition's Multi-Technology Mix approach to the project are significantly delayed, in a move that will affect almost 300,000 premises.
Abandon all hope: Turnbull’s win screws the NBN permanently
Rumour has it that a number of NBN staffers have given the company's HFC cable upgrade the nickname 'Operation Clusterfuck'. Over the next decade, I can confidently predict that we will need to extend this label to the whole NBN project.
Decrypt the iPhone, Brandis, eSafety Commissioner tell Apple
Attorney-General George Brandis has called for Apple to unlock an iPhone used by one of the shooters in December's San Bernadino massacre.
“Rational debate” needed around surveillance
In the wake of the news yesterday that the Coalition and Labor are supporting a raft of new electronic surveillance measures, the Pirate Party of Australia has called for a rational debate to be held over the issue, in the context of widespread opposition to increased surveillance by the Australian public.
Govt again refuses to release Attorney-General’s metadata
The Federal Government has again refused to release the telecommunications metadata of Attorney-General George Brandis, stating that to do so would require "substantial consultation with IT experts" and that it would prevent the Liberal Senator from doing his job.
Foxtel’s IPTV launch delayed already
In late September last year, national pay TV giant Foxtel announced a new online service dubbed ‘Presto’, which was to see consumers charged $24.99 per month to access “a regularly updating collection of great films”, all streamed through the Internet, as opposed to its existing pay TV platform. However, according to the Financial Review, the launch of the service has already been delayed.
Defence graduate allegedly leaked secret info to 4chan
If you're a regular user of 4chan, then you're probably aware that the Internet board is notorious for the number of Internet subcultures and memes it has created. What you probably wouldn't expect to find on 4chan is classified Department of Defence documents.
Google wants exemption from banks’ mobile payments ‘cartel’
In a letter to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Google has requested exemption from an effort by four major Australian banks to be able to collectively negotiate terms with, as well as boycott, third-party wallet app providers.
Budget 2016: Major Police IT projects win funding
Commonwealth law enforcement agencies such as the Australian Federal Police and Crimtrac have won big in this year's Federal Budget in terms of their IT infrastructure programs, with the Government greenlighting a series of major initiatives.
Prysmian developing new cable tech for NBN
Prysmian, a manufacturer of telecommunications cables and systems, is developing new fibre optic cable that will become part of the "multi-technology mix" of the National Broadband Network, the government has announced.
“Pattern of secrecy”: Govt ‘buries’ data retention evidence
The Federal Attorney-General's Department has refused to release any documents relating to the development of controversial data retention legislation, in a move that follows a pattern of behaviour from the department that has led some onlookers to allege "a pattern of secrecy" at the organisation.
Watch: Angry Labor shouts down Fifield in Senate over NBN leaks
An outraged Opposition shouted down Mitch Fifield in Senate Question Time today over the latest set of National Broadband Network leaked documents, accusing the Communications Minister of not knowing that the Coalition's election costing on the NBN was a "lie".
How do Labor and the Coalition differ on NBN policy?
The NBN has been a key issue in the past two elections, so will Labor’s new policy be a vote winner? The policy to move back to FTTP provides a clear differentiation from the Coalition’s FTTN-centric strategy.
Individuals not the priority in the Cyber Security Strategy
The Cyber Security Strategy announced today by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull clearly places a high priority on protecting Australian government systems from foreign powers. But when it comes to protecting citizens' personal information, it appears to be rather a mixed bag.
Truth: CVC pricing is the key NBN sleeper issue in this election
Forget fibre. Forget copper. Forget even Australian Federal Police raids. The controversial Connectivity Virtual Circuit (CVC) pricing model is the key underlying National Broadband Network issue which keeps coming up again and again this Election. And no party is proposing to fix it.
Govt outlines guidelines for data retention grants
The government has initiated a grants program that will provide up to $128.4 million to assist the telecommunications industry with the upfront costs of meeting their data retention obligations.
Turnbull’s NBN blowout caused by MTM, says Quigley
Former NBN Co chief executive Mike Quigley has stated that the up to $15 billion blowout in the cost of the National Broadband Network was due to the Multi-Technology Mix imposed by Malcolm Turnbull, using previous comprehensive audits of the company as evidence.
Twitter caves to Conroy’s troll pressure
news Global social networking site Twitter has agreed to closer cooperation with Australian law enforcement authorities, including handing over users’ IP addresses in certain...
NSW Govt launches 10 year eHealth strategy
The New South Wales Government has launched a 10-year eHealth strategy, saying it will bring "smart, safe, sustainable and digitally-enabled care" to patients.
Attorney-General won’t confirm TSSR bill revamp
Attorney-General George Brandis has refused to confirm whether the Government will accede to the Opposition’s demand that it provide a revised draft of its planned telco national security bill, in the wake of loud complaints from Australia’s entire technology sector about the controversial legislation.
Four months later, data retention funding model still incomplete
It turns out that four months after the legislation passed, the Government still hasn't quite worked out the funding model for its data retention package.
Australia, NZ revamp agreement to combat spam
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs (NZDIA) have renewed and expanded an agreement aimed to fight unsolicited junk messages or spam.
Greens get their surveillance inquiry
Following several unsuccessful attempts, the Greens have successfully moved a motion in the Senate to establish a formal inquiry into Internet surveillance, through a review that will take place into the controversial Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act.
The Inside Track: How will G.Fast actually work on the NBN?
How will G.Fast actually be implemented in the NBN company's network in a practical sense? How will it be installed? Who will benefit? When will it be installed? How will the whole process work? What can Australia's broadband users expect from G.Fast? It's these questions with respect to G.Fast that we'll try to answer in this issue of The Inside Track: Not the debate or the hype, but the granular details about this controversial standard which will affect people's lives.
#NatSecInquiry may not land before election
The Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security's report on the package of National Security Inquiry reforms has already been delayed to the extent that it is unlikely that any associated legislation will reach Parliament before the next Federal Election.
Turnbull resigns as Communications Minister to challenge Abbott
Malcolm Turnbull has reportedly resigned his post as Communications Minister and from Federal Cabinet to challenge Tony Abbott for the Prime Ministership, in a move that has the potential to result in a dramatic shake-up of the way the National Broadband Network project is run.
How to fix NBN Fixed Wireless: Install a roof antenna extension
Having trouble with your NBN Fixed Wireless connection? The solution may be simple: Install a 'mast' on the roof of your premises that will boost your antenna higher than nearby trees. It sounds stupid, but it's done the trick for some -- and it may fix your connection too.
Australians unsure on Assange Govt support
Most Australians are unsure whether the Federal Government has provided enough support to Australian citizen and Internet activist Julian Assange during his ongoing legal battles in Europe, a new poll has shown, as the Greens continue to call for further assistance for the Wikileaks founder.
NBN changes mind again: Some HFC suburbs to get FTTN after all
The NBN company last week reportedly said it would deploy its Fibre to the Node rollout model to some areas already covered by HFC cable networks, in a move which appears to represent the second time the company has changes its policy on the issue.
StartupAUS report: Australian big business must collaborate with startup community
StartupAUS, a group that advocates for Australia's startups, has published a report highlighting the importance of the relationship between big business and startups in cultivating a "vibrant and energetic" environment for innovation.
eBay Australia hands seller details to Govt
Online auction house eBay has reportedly handed over the details of thousands of its Australian sellers, as part of an initiative by the Federal Government's Human Services Department (which houses welfare agency Centrelink) to target those it suspects of cheating the welfare system.
Fifield’s website goes down on first day as Comms Minister
Spare a thought for Senator Mitch Fifield. Just as the new Communications Minister was being sworn in at Government House in Canberra this morning, his web developer was apparently knocking his website offline for maintenance.
Labor claims DHS telephone and IT systems ‘collapsing’
Labor has released a statement over what it calls a "collapse" in the standards of telecoms and IT services at Centrelink and Medicare.
Govt seeks substantial boost to surveillance powers
The Federal Government today revealed a wide-reaching program to substantially reform its telecommunications interception and surveillance powers with the aim of bolstering the ability of law enforcement organisations to fight crime, including the introduction of a so-called "data retention" scheme that has attracted a great deal of controversy in Australia under the 'OzLog' banner.
Ads not misleading: Google wins High Court case
Search giant Google has won a High Court case against the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in which the regulator had alleged that Google breached the law by displaying misleading or deceptive advertisements on its search results pages.
NBN HFC trial achieves 84Mbps/33Mbps average speeds
The NBN company today revealed it had completed its HFC cable in the Queensland region of Redcliffe and was on track for a June commercial launch of the technology, with users on the trial achieving average downlaod speeds of 84Mbps and average upload speeds of 33Mbps.
Key commentators agree the NBN should be broken up, sold off
Several influential commentators on the National Broadband Network have publicly agreed over the past several days with Infrastructure Australia's recommendation that the NBN company should be broken up into chunks along technological lines and privatised.
NBN reveals new FTTdp trials, but says FTTN not ‘dead’
The NBN company today revealed it would undertake a new set of trials in Sydney and Melbourne of the Fibre to the Distribution Point technology which some believe represents a viable path forward for ditching the company's Fibre to the Node rollout style once and for all.
News Ltd chief slams “scumbag” Internet pirates
The chief executive of the Australian division of publisher News Limited has given a major speech slamming what he described as "copyright kleptomaniacs" supporting "scumbag theft", arguing that Internet piracy was undermining the business case for the creation of great cultural works like never before.
Less talk, more action: Entrepreneur tells ‘Labor for Innovation’
Not everyone in Australia's startup sector believes Labor has yet demonstrated it can walk the talk when it comes to the digital economy: Can these feel-good events actually translate into solid policy?
Insight: Morrow is misleading us about America’s gigabit FTTP appetite
The evidence indicates that NBN chief executive Bill Morrow is likely deliberately attempting to deceive the Australian public about America's appetite for high-speed fibre broadband.
Battle royalty: Is this the end of online radio streaming?
Online streaming of radio broadcasts may be a thing of the past after the Full Federal Court yesterday handed down a ruling that will result in radio stations paying higher royalties to the recording industry.
“Extraordinary innovation” happening in copper broadband, says Nokia chief
A senior Nokia executive this week said that "extraordinary innovation" is happening in copper broadband technology, in comments that will likely boost the case for the Government's mixed technology policy on the NBN.
Labor to take NBN beyond the node, but ignores HFC
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten today said Labor wasn't satisfied with the Coalition's Fibre to the Node technology for the National Broadband Network, but stopped short of commenting on Labor's plans for the up to a third of the NBN that will be covered by HFC cable technology.
Music industry moves to block KickassTorrents over piracy concerns
Members of Australia's music industry have teamed up to block peer-to-peer file-sharing site KickassTorrents over piracy concerns.
Morrow predicts “NBN Generation” by 2020
By 2020, NBN Co expects Australia will be "the first country of our size" to make broadband access universal, according to Bill Morrow, the firm's CEO.
Global eyes are watching: EFF condemns Australia’s new Internet filter
The global Electronic Frontiers Foundation has harshly criticised the Federal Government for allowing departments and agencies to unilaterally block websites suspected of containing illegal content, saying that it "beggars belief" that such a system could be in place after the previous mandatory filter policy was defeated.
Global hacker crackdown hits Aussies
Picked up a copy of the 'Blackshades' remote administration tool recently? You may be on the FBI's target list. The Wall Street Journal reports in the US over the weekend that US authorities have worked with law enforcement authorities in a range of countries to raid the homes of those who have been using the software.
Turnbull on iiTrial: We need ‘global copyright’
In the wake of iiNet's victory in its Internet piracy High Court case, Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has called for the content industry to start releasing all of its content globally through on- and offline platforms simultaneously upon launch, in an effort to meet the demands of consumers and make piracy irrelevant.
Happy nine month birthday, Classification Review. Time for Conroy’s filter to finally die?
Today is the nine month anniversary of the publication of the Classification Review, which readers may remembers as the key document which would guide the development of Labor's infamous mandatory Internet filter policy.
Australian Govt says hands tied on Assange
The Australian Government's hands are currently tied when it comes to the fate of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, Federal Attorney-General Nicola Roxon said last night, with the maverick Internet publisher's Australian citizenship mattering little in the scheme of Swedish legal process unless a formal extradition request was made to shift him out of the European Union.
Budget 2016: Tech giants in trouble as tax avoidance ramps up
Companies such as Apple, Google and Microsoft who have been transferring billions of dollars of Australian revenue offshore are set to come under renewed attack from the Federal Government, with a raft of anti-avoidance measures announced in this year's Federal Budget.
NBN exceeds one million active users
NBN Co has announced that has exceeded its "core" targets for financial year 2016 and said the rollout of the National Broadband Network is "very much on track".
NBN Co suspends Tasmanian satellite rollout amid political brawl
The NBN company has called a halt to its controversial plans to deploy satellite access to a number of towns on the west coast of Tasmania until the various sides of politics resolve what the company sees as a funding black hole for the region.
Fibre optic broadband to last 50 years, says Budde
While technology is generally advancing at a furious pace, fibre optic broadband has nothing that is likely to replace it for as much as 50 years, telecoms expert Paul Budde has said.
NBN cost blow-outs Turnbull’s fault, says Labor
The Opposition has turned allegations of cost blowouts in the National Broadband Network project back on the Government, stating that the project's continually falling financial return problem should be laid at Malcolm Turnbull's door for his controversial Multi-Technology Mix.
Stephen Conroy plays Candy Crush on his iPad during Question Time
It is Conroy's habit to play Candy Crush on his iPad instead of doing, you know ... actual work.
You talkin’ to me? Gerry Harvey’s one-man, online retail debate
Online retail promises or threatens to greatly change how Australians buy and sell over the next few years. However it works out, I hope that Gerry Harvey is around a fair bit longer, saying things to provoke and amuse us.
Govt spying through undersea cables
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, new revelations coming out of US whistleblower Edwards Snowden have revealed that the Australian Signals Directorate habitually taps undersea fibre-optic cables from Australia.
‘Presto’: Foxtel launches movies on demand
National pay TV giant Foxtel has launched a new online service dubbed 'Presto', which will see consumers charged $24.99 per month to access "a regularly updating collection of great films", all streamed through the Internet, as opposed to its existing pay TV platform.
Turnbull involves NBN contractor in Canning by-election
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull appears to have called in National Broadband Network contractor Fulton Hogan to assist with a political photo opportunity associated with the by-election campaign in the Canning electorate in South-East Perth and Mandurah.
ACMA seeks consumer representatives for advisory forum
The Australian Communications and Media Authority is seeking to appoint up to seven consumer representatives to the Consumer Consultative Forum.
NBN Co urges Tasmanians to subscribe to “surging” fixed wireless service
The NBN company this week said that its fixed wireless technology was "surging" in Tasmania, bringing fast Internet to many remote rural and regional communities, yet people may not know of its availability.
Satellite NBN a “great opportunity”, West Tasmanian MP claims
Tasmanian MP Brett Whiteley has told residents and businesses unhappy with the satellite broadband the NBN company is planning to deploy in his electorate in Western Tasmania that the infrastructure represents a "great opportunity" and they should stop pining for a Fibre to the Premise instead.
NBN company re-writes blog post to clarify copper condition
The NBN company appears to have slightly reworked a blog post it published yesterday defending the state of the copper network it is buying from Telstra, in effect removing its claim that it had not had to replace any copper to ensure the Coalition’s Fibre to the Node technology functioned correctly.
NBN hits three million premises milestone
Just days after NBN Co's announcement revealing that it has reached over one million active users, the Government has announced another milestone, saying three million premises are now able to connect to the National Broadband Network.
Fixed Wireless NBN turns out worse than ADSL for some
It was supposed to be next-generation infrastructure which would make their old broadband connection obsolete. But for some connected to the NBN company's Fixed Wireless infrastructure, the performance of the platform is leading them to question whether their old ADSL broadband was actually a better option.
Experts cast doubt on Census DDoS claims
Computer science and security experts at the University of Wollongong (UOW) have cast doubts on the Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) claims that a DDoS attack was in part responsible for the meltdown of the Census website on 9 August.
ACT Liberals call for driverless vehicle trials
The ACT Liberals have released an exposure draft of legislation which would facilitate driverless vehicle trials in the Australian Capital Territory.
Pauline Hanson to fix NBN “white elephant” with FTTN/Wi-Fi combo
Senator-Elect Pauline Hanson wants to use a combination of Fibre to the Node and a wireless technology similar to Wi-Fi, it has emerged, as the One Nation Leader takes a step into the national spotlight courtesy of her victory in the Senate over the weekend.
NSW announces Opal app top ups, credit card “tap in” trial
The NSW Government has announced that customers using its Opal smartcard ticketing system for public transport services can now top up via its "new and improved" Opal Travel app. Also announced were 2017 trials of a scheme that would allow commuters to tap "contactless" credit and debit cards as an alternative to the Opal card.
Federal Government introduces ‘Netflix’ tax bill
The Federal Government has introduced legislation to Parliament that will force foreign providers of digital content, such as Netflix, to pay goods and services tax (GST) in Australia.
Google ploughs $1m into Australian tech education
Good news from the Googleplex this morning. Google Australia has decided to take some of the hard-earned money that it's been piping through Singapore to avoid paying tax in Australia and decided to plough it back into directly funding the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) skills in Australia.
Labor slams the FTTN its new policy may also support
The Opposition has backed comments by upstart Singaporean telco MyRepublic that the Coalition’s preferred Fibre to the Node technology is “shit”, despite acknowledging that its new National Broadband Network policy currently under development may feature the same technology.
1,375 votes lost in Western Australia: Ludlam recount stalled in bureaucracy
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has revealed it lost 1,375 votes during the recent Federal Election and will need to investigate the situation further before it can advise whether Greens Communications Spokesperson Scott Ludlam will keep his Senate seat or be replaced by the Palmer United Party.
Web blocking technically impossible: iiNet reminds Govt of undisputed fact
National broadband provider iiNet has published a blog post reminding politicians of the fact undisputed by the global technology sector that the nature of the Internet makes it technically impossible to 'block' websites as currently being proposed by the Federal Government.
Bronny Copter is here to save us from Bishop’s Choppergate
Tired of reading article after article about how Speaker of the House of Representatives Bronwyn Bishop should resign? Bored at work on a Thursday afternoon and need some diversion while the boss isn’t looking at your screen? Bronny Copter — an online game in the style of Flappy Bird from Melbourne developer Ricky Sullivan — is here to save you.
Greens make innovation key policy of election campaign
The Australian Greens party has announced it will make innovation a key policy of their campaign in the upcoming Federal Election, aiming to "reverse the government’s anti-innovative and climate-destroying policies".
The Inside Track: Australia’s tech sector has a new champion: Wyatt Roy
Australia’s new Assistant Minister for Innovation Wyatt Roy has only been in the job for two days, but he’s already strongly demonstrated that he understands the needs of Australia’s technology startup sector. Are we about to enter a new era of tech-savvy politicians in Canberra?
Sorry, ATO: The Senate hearts Bitcoin as a currency
Those of you who follow the crypto-currency scene in Australia may remember that the Australian Taxation Office hasn't always treated the most popular type of crypto-currency, Bitcoin, the way that those involved in its trade would prefer. However, the long-running crypto-currency inquiry by the Senate Standing Committee on Economics may be about to disagree with the ATO.
Bronwyn Bishop to chair new House of Reps tech Committee
The Federal House of Representatives has reformed its internal committee dealing with matters pertaining to telecommunications, setting up a new structure which has seen tech-savvy Liberal MP Jane Prentice replaced as chair with veteran MP Bronwyn Bishop.
Labor proposes measures to boost Australian startups
The Labor opposition has announced a tranche of proposals to drive innovation across Australia – a move that is likely aimed to take the wind out of the government's sails with a big innovation announcement due on Monday.
The marvellously destructive power of the Internet:A rant by Mark Newton
You might have noticed that at Delimiter we love an epic rant, and as we've previously written, former Internode network engineer Mark Newton has form in this area. Whether it be on the issue of the Internet filter, the National Broadband Network or other topics, Newton is wonderfully unafraid to tell it like it is, and that's one reason we love him (in a platonic sense, of course).
Australian court holds Google responsible for linking to defamatory websites
The South Australian Supreme Court this week found that Google is legally responsible when its search results link to defamatory content on the web.
iiNet, Internode implement Conroy’s new filter
National broadband provider iiNet and its subsidiary Internode have pledged to implement the limited child abuse Internet filtering scheme adopted as policy last week by the Federal Government, noting they had received independent legal advice advising them to comply with a new "compulsory" request by police to do so.
Truth: Data Retention: We told you so
The catastrophic failure of the Attorney-General’s Department to successfully implement the ludicrous Data Retention scheme its incompetent bureaucrats dreamed up at the behest of Australia’s intelligence and law enforcement cabal comes as absolutely no surprise. In fact, many people have been predicting it since the start of this doomed project.
Dallas Buyers Club won’t appeal piracy ruling, but may still seek large damages
In essence, what we’re seeing here is that Dallas Buyers Club and Marque Lawyers have decided to more or less accept Justice Perram’s ruling, but may be seeking to reword their approach to alleged copyright infringers to still target them for facilitating uploading of content online (as occurs in a BitTorrent situation, for example), rather than merely targeting them for downloading material.
The AFR turns on Turnbull’s MTM over $800m Optus HFC issue
Could the mainstream media tide be turning against Turnbull when it comes to the NBN? Andrew Bolt has already expressed his reservations. It will be interesting to see if the AFR continues in this line of criticism of the Prime Minister over his handling of Australia’s largest ever infrastructure project.
Budget 2016: Govt establishes joint taskforce to fix myGov
The Government has established a joint taskforce to remediate its troubled myGov digital identity and verification platform, bringing in experts from a number of government departments and throwing $50.5 million at the project.
New leaked docs appear to show further FTTN delays
The Coalition's controversial Multi-Technology Mix approach to the NBN has taken another body blow, with a fresh set of leaked documents from inside the NBN company reportedly showing that its Fibre to the Node rollout is comprehensively missing its targets.
Malcolm Turnbull was Australia’s worst ever Communications Minister
He might be charismatic, he might be popular, and pretty shortly he might be Prime Minister. But when it comes to technology policy, Malcolm Turnbull has been a disaster. The Member for Wentworth will be remembered as Australia’s worst ever Communications Minister — the man who singlehandedly demolished the NBN and put a polite face on draconian Data Retention and Internet piracy laws.
Turnbull to restore some NICTA/Data61 funding a year after it was chopped
According to Financial Review correspondent Phillip Coorey — currently travelling with now Prime Minister Turnbull on an extensive overseas trip stopping off at Germany — Turnbull is set to reinstate at least some of the funding chopped from NICTA.
Internet Piracy rules won’t work, says Husic
Labor MP Ed Husic has published a lengthy article arguing new legislation and industry self-regulatory measures pushed by the Government will “do little” to resolve the issue of Internet piracy, arguing the issue is a market problem and needs to be addressed by focusing on bad corporate behaviour instead.
DTO immigration project passes first test
A new booking service being developed by the Digital Transformation Office (DTO) and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection for people about to take their citizenship test has passed its first assessment.
IT price hike inquiry will approach record labels
How seriously can we take Apple Australia managing director Anthony King's claim that Apple doesn't have anything to do with setting digital content prices in Australia through the company's iTunes store? I guess we're about to find out.
Early customers say Sky Muster NBN satellite delivers “outstanding” broadband
The new Sky Muster NBN satellite service has received positive reviews from early customers, who said performance is "outstanding", according to Activ8me, an official NBN provider.
FTTP NBN would cost $8.5bn more, claim ‘leaked’ Govt docs
A switch back to an all-fibre National Broadband Network would reportedly cost the Federal Government an extra $8.5 billion and potentially cause a wider Federal Budget black hole, according to a new set of documents which appear to have been leaked to the media late last week.
NBN Co dumps FTTP plan for another half a million premises
The National Broadband Network Company this afternoon revealed up to 550,000 less Australian premises would receive the full Fibre to the Premises rollout than had been previously been planned under the Coalition’s Multi-Technology Mix, with the project’s funding requirement also blowing out by between $5 billion and $15 billion.
Turnbull defends Geelong MP from FTTN critics
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull this morning travelled to Geelong to spruik the benefits of its looming Fibre to the Node deployment, braving the ire of local residents and Labor politicians, who are increasingly demanding local Liberal MP Sarah Henderson support the technically superior Fibre to the Premises version of the NBN instead.
NBN calls for ‘experienced technicians’ to help with Tassie rollout
The NBN company has called for experienced telecoms technicians and workers to assist the network rollout in Tasmania during 2016 and beyond.
ISPs will take coordinated approach to site blocking
A number of internet service providers (ISPs) have agreed to take a coordinated response to orders requesting website blocking over copyright infringement.
NBN Co delays FTTN rollout for further testing
The National Broadband Network company has acknowledged it is significantly delaying its rollout of Fibre to the Node technology in order to better test its own systems involved in the deployment, as debate continues to swirl around the controversial broadband rollout style.
Choice wants geo-IP blocking abolished
One of Australia's peak consumer groups has recommended the Federal Government investigate whether region-coding and charging Australians higher prices for products based on Internet IP address should be banned, in the context of an investigation which has found little justification for average Australian price hikes of 50 percent on technology goods.
Labor releases national open data policy to fuel digital innovation
The Opposition has released a plan for data reform that it said will "fuel digital innovation and productivity growth across Australia".
NBN company defends “excellent” FTTN network
The NBN company has rejected claims by Singaporean telco MyRepublic that the fledgling Fibre to the Node component of its network rollout is “shit”, stating instead that the rollout mechanism delivers “excellent” speeds to Australians.
NBN raids paint us as “Asian democratic backwater”, says Assange
The Australian Federal Police's NBN raids last night on Labor MPs and their staffers must not be tolerated and make Australia look like it has become an "Asian democratic backwater", WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said in a statement this afternoon.
Fifield leaves door open for greater NBN FTTP rollout
Senator Mitch Fifield appears to have opened the door for the NBN company to change its percentage mix of broadband technologies, in his first interview since being sworn in as Malcolm Turnbull’s replacement Communications Minister on Monday this week.
Data retention secrecy: AFP unable to disclose journo, MP metadata requests
The Australian Federal Police has refused to answer questions from a Federal Senator about whether it has recently accessed the metadata of journalists, politicians or political staffers, on the basis that doing so would be illegal under new Data Retention legislation.
Turnbull’s NBN: Why it’s slow, expensive and obsolete
The Coalition sold the Australian public a product that was supposed to be fast, one-third the cost and arrive sooner than what Labor was offering us. Instead the Coalition’s NBN will be so slow that it is obsolete by the time it’s in place, it will cost about the same as Labor’s fibre-to-the-premises NBN, and it won’t arrive on our doorsteps much sooner.
“Cheap buy”: Budde and Ludlam believe the NBN will be sold to Telstra
Senior figures Paul Budde and Senator Scott Ludlam this week said they expected that the only company likely to buy a privatised National Broadband Network would be Telstra, as speculation continues to mount about a sale of Australia's largest ever infrastructure project before it is even finished.
#NatSecInquiry: Tracking Australians in real time
The ongoing National Security Inquiry has dislodged quite a few stones from the bottom of the paranoia well. One aspect that took my interest in particular is the relationship between data retention and mobile or cellular telephone data.
Governments undermining encryption will do more harm than good
Western governments, notably the UK and the US, are pushing the software industry to open “backdoors” into our encrypted communications.
Industry group lists digital policies to boost Australia’s economic prospects
The Australian Industry (Ai) Group has released a report outlining seven priority policies that it believes are essential to strengthen pro-digital reforms and lift Australia's prospects in the digital economy.
Greens propose Digital Rights Commissioner
The Australian Greens have proposed that Australia should have an "independent human rights commissioner for digital rights" – a new post that would see the holder advocate for citizen's online safety, accessibility, privacy and security.
NBN to hold HFC launch days before Election
The NBN company has revealed plans to hold a product launch just days before the upcoming Federal Election, in a move which has the potential to be interpreted as a breach of the Caretaker Conventions that govern the pre-election behaviour of public sector organisations.
Amazon puts Aussie face on global Kindle store
Online retailer Amazon this morning revealed it had formally launched an Australian version of its popular online bookstore, putting a formal face on a service which millions of Australians have already been accessing for years and further supporting Australian authors to sell their books online locally.
Will the green shoots of Australian innovation policy be cut off prematurely?
Understandably, new governments have an interest in putting their own stamp on policy, particularly in areas as critical to our future as research and innovation, but sometimes continuity and re-badging is preferable to scorched earth.
Bitcoin miner lists on ASX
If you needed any further indication that we now live in the science fiction future long ago mapped out for us by visionary authors, then look no further. News arrived this week that an Australian digital currency company and Bitcoin mining concern, digitalBTC, has listed on the Australian Stock Exchange through a backdoor listing.
“Aussies treated like second-class citizens”: Choice blasts US TV giants
Consumer watchdog Choice has issued a fiery statement accusing US content giants of giving Australians "a raw deal" when it comes to making television shows and films available in Australia, pointing out that Australians pay substantially more to access the same content and encouraging locals to use technical mechanisms to get around so-called "geo-blocking".
Fifield says Shorten’s FTTP NBN promise is “flaky”, uncosted
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has labelled a pledge by Bill Shorten to bring a "greater role" for Fibre to the Premises technology in the NBN as "flaky", saying the Opposition Leader did not specify exactly what the promise would cost and what it meant.
Productivity Commission IP reform recommendations likely to be lost in election haze
The Commission’s recommendations as a whole are thus very unlikely to be embraced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, by his colleagues or by Bill Shorten. The Commission states that “Australia’s intellectual property system has lost sight of users”. We should ensure that the Government does not lose sight of the report.
ASD goes rogue with Aussie metadata
Australia's peak electronic intelligence agency offered to share detailed information collected about ordinary Australian citizens with its major intelligence partners, the Guardian reported this morning, in moves that at least one high-profile lawyer says may have breached Australian law.
Budde says he warned Turnbull about Optus HFC cable issue
Veteran telecommunications analyst Paul Budde late last week said he publicly warned Malcolm Turnbull that the HFC cable network which the NBN company bought from Optus for $800 million was not suitable for use as part of the National Broadband Network, but that the Prime Minister had ignored the analysis, surrounding himself instead with "yes men".
Digital Rights Watch calls for independent inquiry into Census fail
Online advocacy organisation Digital Rights Watch (DRW) has called for an independent inquiry into the 2016 Census following the failure of the Census website on 9 August and concerns over the way the official national population survey has been managed.
Coalition pledges to expand startup incubator support
The Coalition Government has pledged to invest an extra $15 million into boosting Australia’s startup scene if it is re-elected in July.
Federal Parliament to hold first TPP hearing today
Federal Parliament is to commence its examination of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) at a public hearing on Monday in Canberra.
EFA kicks off digital rights campaign for election year
Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) has launched its digital rights campaign for 2016, which addresses issues such as privacy, censorship and net neutrality.
Why tax breaks are not the answer to encourage Australian startups
Using the tax system in an attempt to foster innovation may not be the sensible policy choice.
Govt packs innovation and science panel with industry heavyweights
The government has strengthened the lineup of the new Innovation and Science Australia Board, adding a number of heavyweight members with a proven track record across science and industry.
NSW Govt launches inquiry into driverless cars
The NSW Government's Staysafe Committee has launched an inquiry into driverless vehicles and their potential impact on road safety in the state.
ASIC repeatedly delays S.313 FoI responses
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has on multiple occasions over the past month, involving multiple parties, delayed responding to Freedom of Information requests seeking documents relating to its controversial decision to start unilaterally blocking websites it suspects of fraudulent activity.
Critics “mistaken”, says NBN Co: We’re not going to “scrap” Optus HFC
The NBN company today said those who believed it was going to "scrap" Optus' HFC cable network were "mistaken", and that leaked documents published last week showing the network was not fit for use as part of the National Broadband Network were only a "hypothetical exercise".
CSIRO job cuts a ‘body blow to science’, says union
The Community and Public Sector Union has strongly criticised the federal government over the "mass axing" of 350 more scientists at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.
Ludlam holds Senate seat in recount; But possible by-election looms
Greens Communications Spokesman Scott Ludlam has held his Senate seat in Western Australia following a controversial recount of the state's Senate vote in September's Federal Election, but the result is likely to be formally challenged by the rival Palmer United Party and may head to a by election because of the loss of 1,375 crucial votes.
Govt email may not be more secure, says Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull has advised the public not to assume that Government email services are more secure than private systems, in the wake of news that the new Prime Minister will continue to use non-Government email and instant messaging platforms for communication.
Australia not on Internet piracy watchlist, says Internet Australia
Advocacy group Internet Australia has said that despite the "huffing and puffing" from Australia-based representatives of overseas content rights holders, Australia is not on the US Government’s official content piracy watchlist.
NBN: Disastrous for the music industry … really?
The time has come for the music industry to find common ground with consumers, not do business in spite of them.
New chair takes reins as NBN Committee sits this Friday
The Senate Select Committee on the National Broadband Network will hold its first public hearing under the control of its new chair, Senator Jenny McAllister, this Friday morning, with nbn’s recent hiring spree and progress around its deployment of Fibre to the Node technology likely to be on the agenda.
ACCC still concerned about NBN/Telstra relationship
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has aired concerns over potential competition issues raised by the commercial relationship between Telstra and NBN Co.
AFR claims on NBN sale just plain “wrong”, says Fifield
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield today flatly rejected claims by the Financial Review newspaper that the Government was in talks to sell the bulk of the National Broadband Network to Telstra for as little as $20 billion, stating: "There are no plans to sell NBN".
7:30 exposes Aussie Hacking Team industry
It's not often we get a deep window into the inner workings of Australia's electronic spying operation, but this week the ABC's 7:30 program delivered just that in an expose on how the local industry is pitching solutions from the Hacking Team firm to Australian Government agencies.
IT more valuable than mining, says Gillard
news: Prime Minister Julia Gillard has hailed knowledge and the technologies used to create and share it as being the key factor determining Australia's future economic success -- even beyond the resources sector -- as she met with key figures from Australia's technology sector and set in place key 'Digital Economy' strategies for the nation's future.
Turnbull tries to accelerate mobile blackspot fix for Canning by-election
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has reportedly promised to attempt to intervene in the Government’s Mobile Black Spot Programme to accelerate the deployment of a mobile tower in Dwellingup in Western Australia, in what appears to be an effort to boost the Liberal Party's chances in the Canning by-election in the state.
Labor slams Turnbull’s NBN “broken promises”
The Labor Party has hit out at what it calls Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's "broken promises" over the NBN rollout and listed a number of perceived "stuff-ups" during his first year of office.
Govt open to NBN using skinny fibre, FTTdp, says Fifield
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield has confirmed the Government is open to using 'skinny' fibre and Fibre to the Distribution Point models as part of the National Broadband Network, as speculation continues to mount the two technologies may form the basis of a new Coalition NBN policy to be released ahead of this year's Federal Election.
‘The filter is back’: Blocked site tells its story
In a lengthy piece on the ABC’s The Drum website this afternoon, the convenors of the Melbourne Free University site tell their story and argue that the situation with Australian Government website blocking is just not good enough.
After a decade, ATO finally launches Mac e-tax
Long-time Australian users of Apple's flagship Macintosh line will be rapt with the news that the Australian Taxation Office has finally launched a version of its e-tax electronic tax return lodgement software which works on Mac OS X.
We like e-readers – but library users are still borrowing books
What place do e-readers – and in particular ebooks – hold in the reading behaviour of Australia’s 10 million public library borrowers? There are some 181 million items loaned every year by the nation’s 1,500 public libraries, branches, mobile libraries and other service points but, according to the latest survey-based report from the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), for the majority of these libraries, ebook loans represent less than 1% of the total.
Piracy: iiNet refutes content industry “doom and gloom”
National broadband provider iiNet has renewed its public attack on the content industry, using a high-profile report published in February to push the argument that the overall global content ecosystem is booming and that content providers should stop trying to stop Internet piracy and instead focus on new business models.
Shorten says Govt has “bungled” the Census
While acknowledging that the Census "does a lot more good than harm", Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has said that the government has "bungled" 2016's official survey of the Australian population.
The politics of unshackling the NBN from politics
A long-term industry has been shackled to three-year political terms for far too long. The only way to unshackle NBN from politics is to get government out of the marketplace where it exists. Of course, the legacy of sunk costs will make this difficult. But by the time we stop bickering about the latest lot of reports, it will be time to deal with the next communications technology problem.
Planned NBN cyber security centre will bring new jobs to Melbourne
The Victorian Government has announced that a new cyber security centre to be built as part of the National Broadband Network (NBN) infrastructure will help create 700 new high-skilled jobs in Melbourne over the next four years.
Xenophon wants Senate inquiry into cyber attacks following BoM breach
Independent Senator for South Australia, Nick Xenophon, has called for an urgent inquiry into cyber security following recent revelations that the Bureau of Meteorology’s systems have been breached, along with those of other government agencies.
Labor: Turnbull’s Innovation Statement ‘does not go far enough’
Labor has criticised the government's $1 billion Innovation Statement, saying that "it does not go far enough".
Tiger Airways joins growing list of spamming corporations
Tiger Airways is likely to face further damage to its reputation, after joining a growing list of big corporations being fined for breaching the Spam Act.
The need for speed: there’s still time to fix Australia’s NBN
A National Broadband Network (NBN) based on Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) was, and still is, the right answer for Australia’s broadband needs.
Telstra still upgrading the HFC network it is selling to NBN Co
The nation's largest telco Telstra has revealed it will invest a significant amount of capital upgrading the HFC cable network it has contracted to sell to the NBN company, in a move which raises questions about the long-term future of the network.
Ludlam demands clarity on GST Internet filter report
The Australian Greens have demanded that the Government clarify its stance on a reported new policy that would see it block foreign sites not paying Goods and services Tax (GST) on sales in Australia.
NBN CTO pitches 5Gbps speeds for HFC cable modems
The chief technology officer of the NBN company yesterday said new modems launched by the company's equipment supplier ARRIS will allow theoretical top speeds of 5Gbps down and 2Gbps up, in comments which appear to run contrary to ongoing claims by the company that Australians are not interested in gigabit NBN speeds.
No new Aussie review into Google W-Fi breach
Contrary to a number of high-profile news articles published over the past 24 hours, Australia's Privacy Commissioner will not open a new investigation into Google's collection of Wi-Fi data by its Street View vehicles in Australia, following a new report by US regulators into the matter.
The Inside Track: The Coalition is strongly hinting it won’t support a FTTdp NBN
Fifield and Turnbull are clearly aware that Labor is likely to announce a FTTdp-based NBN policy in the near future. What we are very likely seeing here is the advance start of an effort by the Coalition to lay the groundwork for a strategy of disparaging a FTTdp-based NBN policy issued by Labor.
Quickflix leadership decimated as losses mount
Online DVD rental and Internet media company Quickflix this week revealed a series of senior leadership losses including the representative of investor HBO, as the company continues to burn through cash and seek further funding to continue its operations.
Why data breach reporting should be mandatory
As we move forward in this era of online transactions and social media, there’s a need for security and privacy legislation to keep pace. Most importantly, there’s a need for Australians to feel confident that their personal information is being kept safe by those we entrust it to.
“Shameful” AFP NBN raid may be illegal, says Conroy
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) raid on the Department of Parliamentary Services yesterday was possibly illegal, according to Senator Stephen Conroy, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and Shadow Special Minister Of State.
The Inside Track: How NBN Co decides rollout locations
If you’re wondering how the NBN company decides which locations around Australia it will roll out the National Broadband Network infrastructure to and why, wonder no more. This issue of The Inside Track will examine the company’s selection criteria.
“No influence”: AFP denies NBN raids politically motivated
The Australian Federal Police today said there had been zero political influence on the seven month investigation into damaging leaks from the NBN company which yesterday culminated in raids on Labor Party offices, with the Government itself only being told about the investigation yesterday.
SA Police want face recognition CCTV everywhere
I'd just like to be able to pop down to the shops quickly now and then for a packet of chips without some police system automatically scanning my face for matches with some massive crime database. Is that too much to ask?
Accenture to develop Ipswich smart city strategy
The Ipswitch City Council has selected IT integrator and consultancy Accenture to progress what it has dubbed its 'Smart City' Transformation Strategy and Implementation Plan, as the Queensland City seeks to take the next step in its own development.
Kim Dotcom may list Mega on ASX
Kim Dotcom expresses an interest in listing his new Mega business on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Snowden report calls out Australia’s inadequate privacy law
The revelations of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden have altered the way we think about accountability, transparency and the rule of law with regard to both the activities of security agencies and the value of privacy, according to a detailed report released this week. But this change in thinking has not led to practical reform, according to the report.
Redacted: AFP cuts ISP details from filter docs
The Australian Federal Police has sought to prevent the public from ascertaining the identities of ISPs participating in the Federal Government's voluntary filter scheme for child abuse materials, through redacting the ISPs' details from relevant documents released under Freedom of Information laws.
Devil’s Advocate: Dallas Buyers Club decision will force Turnbull’s hand on Internet piracy
The decision by Dallas Buyers Club to abandon its Internet piracy lawsuit is not the comprehensive victory many of Australia's digital rights activists and Internet pirates think it is. It merely signals that the next round of the rapidly intensifying legal and political fight over Australian copyright law has already begun.
CASA cuts red tape for drone operators
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has announced that regulatory requirements for operators of remotely piloted aircraft, or drones, are to be relaxed later this year.
MyRepublic full of “bullshit”, says CommsDay publisher
Your writer has been pretty supportive of the controversial comments made by MyRepublic chief executive Malcolm Rodrigues about the Coalition's version of the National Broadband Network. However, not everyone shares the same views. One very well-argued piece of detailed analysis comes from the founder of Communications Day, Grahame Lynch.
“Fibre zealots”: The Australian backs Ziggy’s Caretaker breach
A senior columnist at The Australian newspaper has backed what he described as Ziggy Switkoski's "well-aimed" breach of the Caretaker Conventions, supporting the idea that the NBN chair's action was necessary to deal with "rumourtrage" about the project.
BitTorrent “not time-critical”: Telstra defends trial
The nation's largest telco Telstra claimed over the weekend that BitTorrent-style peer to peer traffic on its network was "not time-critical" and so could be slowed on its network "without significant consumer detriment", in an extensive statement defending highly controversial plans to trial several new network management practices.
Australia’s Internet services slower in 2012 than 2011: Akamai
Australia’s average Internet speeds have decreased by 23% compared with a year ago, according to the latest quarterly figures from global content distribution network (CDN) giant Akamai.
Alston successor Mitch Fifield is Australia’s new Communications Minister
Malcolm Turnbull has appointed veteran Senator Mitch Fifield to be Australia’s new Communications Minister as part of his new Cabinet, with the new Prime Minister’s former Parliamentary Secretary Paul Fletcher leaving the portfolio and current Attorney-General George Brandis to retain his role.
“A whole mess of garbage”: Ludlam blasts Turnbull’s “mongrel” NBN
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam has given a fiery speech to Parliament this week damning the Coalition's version of the National Broadband Network as instigated by Malcolm Turnbull, labelling it as a "whole mess of garbage" and as being held together with "gaffer tape and plastic bags".
“Victoria will decide”: Conroy on ‘Senator’ Julian Assange
In this brief video filmed at a doorstop press conference last week, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy -- a Senator for Victoria -- gives his reaction to the news that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has made an application to register the Wikileaks Party in Australia and will seek election in September as a Senator for Victoria.
Ed Husic calls for regulation following banks’ ‘boycott’ of Apple Pay
Ed Husic MP has said that Australian consumers are being denied payment choices over the banks' apparent "boycott" of Apple Pay and called for "technology neutral" regulation to avoid consumers suffering from the possibly "anti-competitive" actions of some financial institutions.
ACCC raises competition concerns over NBN’s Telstra HFC deal
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has expressed concerns around Telstra’s involvement in the rollout of the NBN network, saying it poses a threat to competition.
Queensland will be first to get NBN HFC cable, says Fifield
Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield has announced that residents in Queensland will be the first to experience the NBN's "superfast" HFC cable broadband service when the network goes live in June.
“Spectacularly incompetent”: Govt slams Labor NBN funding model
Senior Government Minister Paul Fletcher has taken a pickaxe to Labor's previous funding model for the National Broadband Network, describing it as "spectacularly incompetent", despite the fact that the Coalition itself admitted during the recent Budget that it had its own NBN funding black hole.
Election FactCheck Q&A: has the NBN been delayed?
Christopher Pyne’s assertion that there have been “no delays” in the implementation of the NBN is inaccurate.
Truth: The MTM NBN could have been so much better
Everyone knows that Malcolm Turnbull's Multi-Technology Mess is an absolute dog of a model for the NBN. But every dog has its day, and the truth is that even the MTM could have been implemented so much better than it has been.
Digital Rights Watch calls for fair use, end of Internet censorship
Advocacy group Digital Rights Watch has called for the introduction of fair use legislation and the cessation of Internet censorship as the Productivity Commission prepares to undertake a 12-month public inquiry into Australia’s intellectual property system.
For the tragedy of the NBN, Turnbull must go
The NBN stands out strongly amidst a slew of other issues in this Federal Election. Because in ten years, in twenty years -- in fifty years -- most of those other issues will have ceased to matter. But the problems with the NBN will remain. The only way to deal with these problems is to cut them off at the source: And vote against Malcolm Turnbull.
Drastic govt measures needed: IT price hike report pulls no punches
The Federal Parliament committee examining IT price hikes in Australia has published an extensive report recommending a raft of drastic measures to deal with current practices in the area, which, the report says, are seeing Australians unfairly slugged with price increases of up to 50 percent on key technology goods and services.
Delimiter named in AFP search warrant for NBN leaks
Delimiter has reportedly been named in a search warrant issued by the Australian Federal Police authorising raids on a number of premises to seek documents related to a spate of damaging leaks which have come from within the NBN company over the past year.
Fact check: Pyne misleads Q&A audience on key NBN facts
Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Christopher Pyne appears to have inadvertently misled the ABC's Q&A program about key facts regarding the National Broadband Network project, repeating a set of common misconceptions about the initiative on air last night.
Online GST push places an unfair burden on pop culture lovers
Will the long tail of the internet be docked by the fastidious imposition of GST to online purchases?
‘ABC did not gag Nick Ross’: MD Mark Scott tells Senate (full video)
The managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation has categorically denied that the broadcaster "gagged" its former technology editor Nick Ross from reporting on the National Broadband Network, stating that it merely wanted the journalist to comply with its editorial policies in doing so.
ACMA blasts Groupon for spamming
It was only a matter of time. The Australian Communications and Media Authority has cottoned on the fact that online deals retailer Groupon hasn't been as ... honest and diligent about its email newsletter habits as it could have been. Last week the regulator issued a statement strongly cautioning Groupon about its behaviour.
Research suggests site blocking effective against piracy
New research based on data from the UK has suggested that site blocking is effective against online piracy of digital content.
Michelle Rowland appointed Shadow Minister for Communications
Labor MP Michelle Rowland has been appointed to the Shadow Cabinet, taking on the role of Shadow Minister for Communications.
Parties should stop “squabbling” over NBN, says Internet Australia
Internet Australia, the peak body representing Internet users, has repeated its call for the National Broadband Network to be removed from the political debate.
Politicians to attend Parliament House innovation ‘boot camp’
Federal MPs and senators will learn about coding and novel uses of technology at an innovation 'boot camp' today in Parliament House organised by tech giant Intel, along with students from five Canberra schools.
Is the CSIRO a patent troll? US debate turns feral
An extremely harsh war of words between Australian and international technologists has erupted over a controversial new article published in the United States documenting evidence that Australia's peak research body's $430 million patent claim over 802.11 Wi-Fi technology might have been constructed on shaky ground.
“Infantile display”: Ludlam on Brandis’ surveillance arrogance
Greens Senator and Communications Spokesman Scott Ludlam has has accused Attorney-General George Brandis of delivering an "embarassing and borderline hysterical" and "infantile" display in Federal Parliament, due to the Liberal Senator's continued refusal to answer basic questions about the surveillance powers used by Australian intelligence agencies.
Coalition front bench “technically illiterate”, says Ludlam
Greens Communications Spokesperson Scott Ludlam has described the Coalition's new front bench as "technically illiterate", in a wide-ranging speech in the Senate last week kicking off his campaign to be re-elected in the upcoming Senate by-election in Western Australia and attacking Prime Minister Tony Abbott over various tech-related issues, from Internet piracy to the National Broadband Network.
Google – and everyone else – wins by High Court decision
The High Court has ruled that Google did not engage in misleading and deceptive conduct when it published a number of advertisements created by its AdWords program. Does this mean that the advertisements themselves were not misleading and deceptive? No! Everyone agrees that they were. Rather, the decision clarifies the law for publishers, including those using the internet.
Major tech firms, Australian startups back new innovation organisation TechSydney
A group of local startups and global tech giants, including Atlassian, Airbnb and LinkedIn, have offered support for a new not-for-profit organisation that aims to "turn Sydney into Australia’s Silicon Valley".
Internet Australia repeats call for NBN inquiry
Internet Australia, a not-for-profit advocacy group representing Internet users, has made another call for an inquiry into the National Broadband Network.
Yes, Labor still wants to upgrade HFC to FTTP
Labor still has an interest in upgrading the NBN company's HFC cable networks to full Fibre to the Premises technology, Delimiter can confirm, with this issue to be considered as part of the Infrastructure Review outlined as part of Labor's new NBN policy today.
Abbott thinks coding is a waste of time but Wyatt Roy still dragged him...
In which Tony Abbott attends Startup Weekend Brisbane, flanked by LNP MPs Wyatt Roy and Teresa Gambaro.
AGD ASIO’s “puppet”, claims Pirate Party
Digital rights political party the Pirate Party Australia this week claimed that a parliamentary submission made by the Attorney-General's Department (AGD) arguing for substantially increased government electronic surveillance powers indicated that the Department was little more than a "puppet" and "lobbyist for law enforcement and intelligence agencies".
Has Anonymous hacked an Aussie ISP?
A number of technology media outlets yesterday reported they had spoken to a member of the Anonymous collective of Internet activists, who stated that they had broken into a major Australian ISP and were preparing to release a vast package of internal data to prove that the Federal Government's surveillance and data retention plans weren't secure.
Quickflix sacks one third of workforce
Ailing IPTV and online DVD rental business Quickflix has revealed plans to sack one third of its workforce and initiate a plethora of other restructuring moves as it struggles to keep its trouble-plagued business afloat.
Turnbull warns of growing cyber aggression
Australian public and private sector organisations and individuals are facing malicious cyber activity that is unprecedented in scale and reach, Malcolm Turnbull warns in the government’s new cyber security strategy, launched on Thursday.
ACS releases ICT election “manifesto”
The Australian Computer Society (ACS), an advocacy group for Australia’s ICT professionals, has released what it is calling its "Federal Election Manifesto", setting out five key policy areas it says must be addressed if Australia is to "secure its economic future in the information age".
Firing back at the ‘innovation PM’: Labor to extend HELP to ‘startup year’
Labor has fired the first shot at Malcolm Turnbull in what looks set to become a war beterrn the major parties on who can develop the best innovation policy, announcing it will extend the HELP system to allow university students to take 12 months after their degree to launch their own startup.
Ludlam demands Govt TrapWire answers
Greens Senator Scott Ludlam has demanded answers from the Federal Government as to whether it knows whether the controversial TrapWire surveillance system had been deployed in Australia to keep tabs on locals through the use of public surveillance cameras.
NBN raids an “attack on press freedom”, says media union
Australia's peak media union has described last night's Australian Federal Police raids as an "attack on press freedom", stating that the action by the NBN company and law enforcement represented a "disturbing new twist in pursuit of whistleblowers and legitimate public interest journalism".
Turnbull’s DTO may take over governance of the Govt’s pathetic myGov site
Those of you who run your own business and thus have had the unfortunate experience of being forced to interact with the Government's myGov website will be aware that the site is, to put it rather bluntly, something of a piece of crap.
DHS issues due to ‘chronic’ IT underfunding, says union
Computer malfunctions and other issues at the Department of Human Services are due to "chronic and prolonged underfunding" according to the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU).
Digital Rights Watch group launches to fight for “free and open Internet”
A new advocacy organisation called Digital Rights Watch has launched with the aim of protecting the rights of Australian Internet users.