The other day the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM) Annual Report for 2019-2020 was released. inslm.gov.au/node/190

This thread contains a few highlights. Not a comprehensive summary, just some stuff for me personally.
Obviously a big thing was the review of the TOLA Act (the encryption legislation). Here’s @ashabeeeee’s report on that. zdnet.com/article/inslm-…

And here’s the report itself. inslm.gov.au/reviews-report…
As an aside, last month I did a summary of where all this is up to as we start the new parliamentary year: “Australia’s tangle of electronic surveillance laws needs unravelling” zdnet.com/article/austra…
“The current National Terrorism Threat level remains at ‘PROBABLE’. This threat level has not changed since November 2015... Since September 2014, there have been seven attacks and eighteen major counter-terrorism disruption operations in response to potential attacks.”
There’s a bunch of other statistics on offences and charges and prosecutions which are presumably sources from elsewhere, but this is a handy summary.
Interesting comments here in the “narratives underpinning the terrorist threat to Australia”, and the expansion of the far-right terrorism risks.
“Intelligence agencies have warned that the scale of foreign interference activity against Australia’s interests has reached levels not seen since the Cold War. These activities are aimed at undermining Australia’s national security, open system of government and sovereignty.”
One might well suggest that the biggest factor “undermining Australia’s open system of government” is the government itself and its demonstrated extreme reluctance to provide transparency, but I digress.
There’s a big section on ‘Alan Johns’ [a pseudonym] matter, that bloke who was “charged, arraigned, convicted on his plea of guilty, sentenced and served his sentence — without public awareness of any of this.” At the very least it’s a good intro for anyone new to the story.
The INSLM can’t look at the case isolation, because their role is about the effectiveness of the legislation, not the conduct in a specific case. However you’ll certainly learn a lot by reading it and following up the references.
It also touches upon “the circumstances of Mr Collaery, ‘Witness K’, Mr Roberts-Smith and Fairfax Media,” which INSLM points out are “fundamentally different”. Fascinating stuff. All journalists should read it. That’s pars 49–77.
Finally, at least for me and this thread, there’s two useful tables.

One lists the five pieces of Commonwealth intelligence-related legislation passed in 2019–2020.

The other is a “selection of the reportable cases concerning convictions for terrorism offences”.
In summary, there’s nothing really new in this report, but it’s certainly handy for wonks who like to wonk over national security legislation. End of thread.
If you find this sort of thing useful, you might like to pledge a few bucks to The 9pm Autumn Series 2021. the9pmedict.com/autumn2021

Only slightly related, but that’s more useful for me this week than a coffee-sized tip at the usual stilgherrian.com/tip.

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More from @stilgherrian

14 Feb
Mon plan: 1024 train to Sydney; administrivia en route; quick errand; 1300 lunch with a co-conspirator; 1617 (TBC) return train; reading en route; quiet night. An easy day, but I’ve got a busier few days ahead.
Further alleged plans may be found in the Weekly Wrap, of course.
The show is on the road.
Read 6 tweets
13 Feb
Sun plan: Faff about for most of the day, plus a few minor chores; confirm plans; organise a final push for The 9pm Autumn Series 2021 the9pmedict.com/autumn2021; Weekly Wrap.

If the energy surges, I may even write a small submission to a government inquiry.
This is the inquiry in question. @jpwarren did a detailed thread the other day, but I can’t find it right now. The key problem, however, is that the Bill would give the eSafety Commissioner incredibly broad powers to take down internet content to vaguely protect the kiddies.
Here is that thread by @jpwarren I was talking about.
Read 4 tweets
13 Feb
When it came time to do a weather forecast, I had no idea what it was. So I plugged the mic onto a 50m cable and walked out to where I had a view of the sky in all directions. I told the listeners I’d grown up on a farm so here’s what I reckon. I was pretty close, it turned out.
Meanwhile, a listener figured out where we must be, made a thermos of tea and grabbed a packet of biscuits, and drove out into the swamp to bring us a cuppa. She’d figured that our tower must be the one with the station wagon parked next to it, and obviously she was right.
Anyway, it only took a few hours for Telecom Australia to repair the cable, and I seem to remember it wasn’t too dark by the time we finished. With no mobile phone, I think we had to say it was fixed by saying it on air. “And now back to the studio” then moving the patch cable.
Read 9 tweets
13 Feb
“Grammarly does more than catch errors..” Yes, it annoys the shit out of you with outrageously repetitive advertising.
Four Grammarly adverts in nine minutes is a crime against humanity.
Lol the fourth Grammarly advert was accompanied by a pop-up. This is abusive behaviour.
Read 4 tweets
13 Feb
Today, Saturday 13 February, is World Radio Day. un.org/en/observances…

“At the global level, radio remains the most widely consumed medium.”

Maybe later I’ll tell some stories.
Today is World Radio Day, and earlier today I said I might tell some stories later. Well, it’s later, so I’ll tell just a few tiny stories.
It begins in the 1980s, ’cos I’m getting old. I started at community station 5UV, now Radio Adelaide. Over a couple of years I learned how to do pretty much everything. I produced and presented a lot of different things, but started with classical music. radioadelaide.org.au
Read 16 tweets
13 Feb
“KPMG’s UK chair, Bill Michael, has resigned after telling staff to ‘stop moaning’ during a virtual meeting about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, where he also called unconscious bias ‘crap’.” theguardian.com/business/2021/…
“The 52yo Australian, who told staff to ‘stop playing the victim card’ and described the concept of unconscious bias as being ‘complete and utter crap for years’, apologised and said the scandal over his comments had made his position at the accounting giant ‘untenable’.”
He sounds nice.

Also, it’s the “scandal” that made his position untenable, not the comments. Yes of course, Bill. Arsehole.
Read 5 tweets

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