Federal Government draft legislation to share personal data
The Federal Government has drafted a bill to allow more data sharing, the Data Availability and Transparency Bill would allow government bodies to collect more personal data.
Digital rights advocacy group Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) is worried there is no way for the public to argue the decision to share data across the public sector.
Parks Australia under fire after alleged construction on sacred site
The Northern Territory Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority is alleging Parks Australia of illegal walkway construction on a sacred site near Gunlom Falls in Kakadu National Park.
The AAPA has filed charges under the Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act (1998) as the track is situated close to a ceremonial area which is restricted according to the local Indigenous traditions.
If found guilty, Parks Australia could face a maximum penalty of up to $314,000.
Indigenous man is suing the federal government for spending over 500 days in immigration detention
Brendan Thoms is suing the Australian Government for $4.1million for holding him in immigration detention for over 500 days.
Thoms lawyer, Claire Gibbs, says her client suffered from stress while being detained, calling the case a serious infringement of human rights; the High Court has rulled First Nations peoples are exempt from immigration laws under alien powers in the constitution.
Brisbane City Council introduces new food waste challenge
As food waste currently makes up one quarter of the Brisbane bins, The Brisbane City Council has introduced a new initiative where, According to the National Food Waste Strategy, households could save between $2000- $3000 a year.
Food waste in our city has significantly dropped by 16kg per person since 2017.
The new 'Love Food, Hate Waste' program is an initiative for locals to further reduce this number and consider their environmental impact when it comes to food consumption, by partaking in a 6 week challenge.
Andrew Tuttle: Alexandra Variations
- There’s something essentially Australian about cricket-tragic Andrew Tuttle, something genuinely daggy, something about really not being aware of or concerned with cool; preferring history to judge. Like David Boon’s moustache: cringeworthy at a close historical distance, yet more unmistakably necessary with every passing year..
Tangents: Timeslips
<p><span><span><span>- I first came to Sydney avant-garde (jazz, idm, ambient, post-rock, downtempo mashup) supergroup Tangents via their 2016 breakthrough album, </span><em>Stateless</em><span>. It was a powerhouse of improvisational experimentation, featuring a spectrum of musical moods: from lush, classic downtempo to manic idm and everything in between; there was a variety of standout moments.
Queensland considers reopening NSW border
In a Brisbane Times exclusive, Queensland is considering reopening the borders with NSW by halving the required number of days with no community transmission to 14-days.
The 28-day rule will be revisited at the end of September, and all Cheif Health Officers in other states need to agree if the rule is to change.
The last time NSW record14 days of no community transmissions were in mid-June.
Inmates prepare to vote upcoming election for the first time
For the first time in Queensland History, thousands of prison inmates will be granted the right to vote in the upcoming state election in October.
This legislative change will allow prisoners serving sentences of less than three years the power to vote in state and federal elections.
A spokesperson for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, Greg Barns, said all prisoners, irrespective of their sentence, should be entitled to vote and have a meaningful say on the issues that define their future.
Critics oppose Scott Morrison’s latest ‘gas-led recovery’ plan
Prime minister Scott Morrison has outlined a ‘gas-led recovery’ vision, and critics are calling it a ‘gas-fueled climate collapse.’
Critics say, gas is not a sustainable investment nor a cleaner alternative to coal, and this ‘vision’ undermines Australia’s transition into renewables.
The concept is highly controversial during the climate crisis but the federal government sees gas as the way to transition from coal.