Australia becoming a totalitarian state with email snooping to become the norm?

By Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Monday, 14 April 2008 07:27

Opinion and Analysis

Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland wants to let employers snoop on employees emails – without the consent of workers – as an anti-terrorism measure. Where do we draw the line on privacy?

First it was Australian Federal Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, promising to censor all Australian’s Internet access under the guise of protecting children from paedophilia, while potentially slowing down – and censoring – Internet access for all Australians.

Now, a new Australian Federal Labor Government proposal will see all employees subjected to having their emails snooped upon from early next year – without any consent being needed whatsoever.

In a world where Blackberries and working from home sees work life and private life ever more intermingled, the ‘excuse’ that Government authorities are trying to protect us all from terrorist attacks seems to be the overarching reason for any invasion of everyday privacy.

I’m against terrorists and terrorist attacks hitting Australia as much as the next person, but where will the line be drawn against technology being used against the citizens of Australia?

An article at News.com.au quotes Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland saying that the new measures “would allow companies to intercept staff emails without the consent of workers” to “foil attacks aimed at crippling the country's financial, electricity and transport systems that would be more damaging than terrorist bombings”, specifically saying that :"What this is about is looking at our critical infrastructure."

Already security agencies can snoop on employees emails, though a law called the Telecommunications (Interception) Act, but this Act runs out in June 2008.

McClelland is quoted as saying that: "At least 90 per cent of networks exist outside government but there's no powers for corporate network supervisors to intercept such communications unless they have specific authority from the employee.”

But what does this all mean? Isn’t it just a Government grab for ever more power to snoop into the private lives of Australians? Please read onto page 2.