NSW Council for Civil Liberties welcomes the introduction today of the Clean Up Politics Act to improve the transparency and honesty in dealings between lobbyists and Government representatives.

The Clean Up Politics Act has been driven by the hard work and determination of Independent Member for Kooyong, Dr Monique Ryan. The Council thanks and acknowledges Dr Ryan’s consistent advocacy in this space.

2023 NSWCCL AGM

Item 7.1 The Right to Protest

Under Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the right to peaceful assembly shall be recognised. No restrictions may be imposed unless the protest is an imposition to national security, public safety, public order, the protection of public health, morals or the rights and freedoms of others. Australia has ratified this international agreement and therefore laws should not be passed that are inconsistent with this right. 

Today NSW Council for Civil Liberties joined with Trade Unions, Civil and Human Rights Organisations calling on the NSW Premier to publicly affirm the government’s support for the right to protest.

• NTEU NSW Division
• Amnesty International Australia
• Australian Centre for International Justice
• Public Interest Advocacy Centre
• Community Legal Centres Australia
• Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
• Australian Democracy Network
• Human Rights Law Centre
• Maritime Union of Australia Sydney Branch
• Australian Services Union

Yesterday the Council wrote to Hon Paul Scully MP,  Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, to stand up for Yes23 campaigners who have been moved along by Council Rangers while handing out information relating to the referendum to change the Australian Constitution.

It is a fundamental part of our democratic system of government that people can freely associate, distribute material, and communicate with others about changes to the Australian Constitution. We were alarmed by these actions on behalf of the State which are fundamentally undemocratic and a draconian breach of civil liberties.

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communication and the Arts (the Department) in regard to the exposure draft of the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023 (the Draft Bill).

The NSWCCL acknowledges the harms caused by misinformation and disinformation, particularly as they relate to: the erosion of trust in democratic processes; the weakening of trust generally between and among public and private entities; and, the undermining of an informed populace.

However, the NSWCCL is concerned that the Draft Bill does not sufficiently consider freedoms of expression and assembly, nor take into account the potential for misinformation to be spread by means and entities that are outside the Draft Bill's scope.

We think that the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence, AI, poses significant risks to the civil rights of the Australian public. As it stands, Australia’s regulatory system fails to fully address these risks – an issue that will grow with increased use of these technologies.

The NSW Council for Civil Liberties welcomed the opportunity to make a submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee in regard to its inquiry into the operation of Commonwealth Freedom of Information (FOI) laws.

This inquiry came about after the Greens, Coalition and crossbench teamed up to force the issue. The FOI commissioner, Leo Hardiman, announced his resignation earlier in March citing his lack of powers to make changes necessary to improve the timeliness of reviews of FOI decisions.

The former senator Rex Patrick has brought a federal court case challenging lengthy delays in the FOI review process. He has warned that vast delays plague Australia’s “broken” freedom of information system and are shielding the activities of government from scrutiny.

As previously submitted, privacy is a fundamental human right that is central to the maintenance of democratic societies and achieving respect for human dignity. To this end, urgent reform is required to modernise the Act and ensure it is fit for purpose in the digital age, and the NSWCCL reiterates its previous submissions outlined in its response dated 9 January 2022 to the Attorney General’s Privacy Act Review Discussion Paper.

The CRIS poses a series of questions to further identify the challenges of and options for the sharing of general practice data and the use of eCDS. The objective is to use general practice data to inform government health policy and for public health research. Rather than answering each specific question posed, the NSW Council for Civil Liberties submission focuses on the privacy implications for patient consumers of general practice services and use of eCDS.  The submission covers the four identified problem areas of data sharing and consent; data quality, comparability and linkage; data governance, oversight and coordination; and the increased use of eCDS by GPs.

NSWCCL has consistently voiced concerns about the potential for misuse of location data, collected by everyone from telecommunications companies to Google. In our recent submission to the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee we note that due care should be taken in widening law enforcement's access to personal data.  

The stated aim of the proposed ammendments to the Bill are to provide police with greater access to location data from phone companies to find missing people at risk of harm. NSWCCL agrees that the timely provision of information to law enforcement is critical to ensuring the safety of vulnerable and at-risk individuals. However, we argue that the current legislation allows disclosure of such information, under section 287 of the act, if emergency services believe “on reasonable grounds that the disclosure or use is reasonably necessary to prevent or lessen a serious and imminent threat to the life or health of a person”. We do not agree that the appropriate balance between information privacy and the free flow of information has been achieved in the Bill.