Hey kp, post the Australia Privacy Foundation one. Its pretty scary (can't as I'm on phone)
Their website seriously needs a design upgrade. To make it a bit nicer i chucked it into MS word. Here are the results:
BackgroundIn April, the main 13 of the 58 Parties contesting the 2013 federal election were invited to make their positions clear on vital privacy issues of the time. (Note that the list of issues was finalised before the Snowden revelations about the uncontrolled and wildly excessive surveillance of telecommunications traffic by the NSA).
The Parties' positions were scored, based on (a) their responses and (b) their public platforms. Where answers were not apparent from the response or the platform, the party's stance was interpolated from (c) its other policies, (d) media reports on its stances, and (e) its behaviour in the past. Scores were assigned only to those parties whose policies on relevant matters are reasonably apparent.
A mark of up to 5 points was awarded for each of the 18 topics, plus 5 each for Discoverability (D – the ease of finding the information) and Response (R – the quality of any response provided).
A brief summary of the results is below. The results are then presented for those parties whose policies in relation to privacy matters were stated or could reasonably be interpolated, followed by brief comments on the findings in relation to each of the other parties.
Table KeyPrivacy Processes
1. Does your Party commit to requiring the conduct of Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) on all projects that have significant potential to negatively impact people's privacy?
2. Does your Party commit to the creation of a privacy right of action within the first year of the new Parliament? See the APF Policy
3. Does your Party commit to requiring every organisation to establish and maintain information security safeguards commensurate with the sensitivity of the data? See the APF Policy
4. Does your Party commit to a mandatory notification scheme for data breaches? See the APF Policy
5. Does your Party commit to ensuring that the Privacy Commissioner's decisions about complaints are subject to effective appeal to the judicial system?
6. Does your Party commit to an independent Review of the performance of the Privacy Commissioner's functions?
Privacy Protections – Against Unreasonable Government Activities
7. Does your Party commit to the repeal of the many unnecessary and unjustified features of post-2001 counter-terrorism legislation? See the Submission by Advisory Panel-Member Prof. George Williams
8. Does your Party commit to sustaining freedom from surveillance of people's online behaviour, communications and reading habits, by rejecting the recent proposals relating to 'data retention' and to the 'filtering' of Internet traffic?
9. Does your Party commit to the withdrawal of the power of the Australian Bureau of Statistics to impose mandatory participation in ABS surveys? See the APF Advisory Statement
10. Does your Party commit to the conduct of a meaningful evaluation of Body Scanners in Australian airports?
Privacy Protections – Against Unreasonable Activities by Corporations
11. What commitments is your Party making in relation to the regulation of privacy-intrusive behaviour by social media services such as Google and Facebook?
12. Does your Party commit to the establishment of effective protections against abuses of privacy by the media? See the APF Policy
Privacy Protections – Against Unreasonable Activities in All Sectors
13. Does your Party commit to ensuring that all visual surveillance (such as CCTV, Automated Number Plate Recognition and through the use of drones) complies with the key principles of Justification, Proportionality, Transparency, Mitigating Measures, Controls and Audit? See the APF Policy
14. Does your Party commit to implementation of Law Reform Commission recommendations in relation to substance abuse testing, within the first year of the new Parliament? See the APF Policy
15. Does your Party commit to regulation of the use of biometrics, including genetic data? See the APF Policy Statements on Biometrics and Biometrics in the Workplace
16. Does your Party commit to ensuring that clear and effective protections exist for all personal health care data? See the APF Policy
17. Does your Party commit to preventing the export of personal data to data havens that provide less protection than Australia does?
18. What commitments is your Party making in relation to the regulation of mobile device tracking? See the APF Policy
Summary1. Labor, the Liberals and the Nationals are hostile to human rights generally and privacy in particular. To vote for them is to vote for privacy-abusive laws, and against privacy protections.
2. The Greens remain close to the people who they represent. They have long had, and retain, an enlightened set of policies. They scored a highly commendable 89/100.
3. The Pirate Party, despite being a newcomer, has a remarkably comprehensive platform, which is very positive on human rights and privacy issues in its heartland area of the digitally literate. They scored remarkably high, also adding up to 89/100.
4. The Wikileaks Party and The Sex Party do not have comprehensive platforms, but have at least some policies that are significantly supportive of privacy.
5. The other parties have limited platforms, which contain little or nothing on human rights generally, let alone on privacy. The latter-day Democrats are a pale shadow of the Democrats of the Natasha Stott-Despoja era.
Assessment of Parties with Platforms
Labor's Platform contains short statements in relation to consumer rights and discrimination, but nothing on any other aspect of human rights.
The Liberals' Platform contains a brief mention of a pro-media / anti-privacy position, and support for freedom of speech, but is otherwise devoid of any content relating to human rights, or indeed consumer rights.
The Nationals' Platform web-site contains nothing whatsoever relating to human rights or consumer rights. Its brochure contains a little on consumer rights, but its only position relevant to human rights is opposition to a Charter.
The Greens' Platform is comprehensive, and has a specific segment on human rights, and the Party provided specific and positive responses to the APF's Election Challenge.
The Pirate Party's Platform includes specific segments on civil liberties, including privacy, and the Party provided specific and positive responses to the APF's Election Challenge.
The Wikileaks Party's Platform includes strong pro-privacy positions on whistleblowing protections and telecommunications surveillance. (The invitation was sent late, and hence the scoring is provisional).
The Sex Party's Platform includes a number of policies on human rights matters, and it has been consistently pro-privacy over the years. (The invitation was sent late, and hence the scoring is provisional).
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