The ‘sports rorts’ affair shows the need for a proper federal ICAC – with teeth

AAP/Mick Tsikas

Yee-Fui Ng, Monash University

While Sports Minister Bridget McKenzie has been forced to resign over the “sports rorts” affair, the matter is far from settled. It’s likely to feature heavily in parliamentary debate in the coming days.

One of the outstanding issues is the very different findings by the Audit Office report and by the review undertaken by the head of the prime minister’s department, Phil Gaetjens. Scott Morrison has said he will not release the Gaetjens report, so we can only go on the quotes Morrison read from it in his press conference announcing McKenzie’s resignation.

Gaetjens found McKenzie had breached the ministerial standards due to her conflict of interest in failing to disclose her membership of a gun club that received funding. At the same time, he absolved the government, as he “did not find evidence” the allocation of grants was “unduly influenced by reference to marginal or targeted electorates”.

---

Read more:
The ‘sports rorts’ affair shows the government misunderstands the role of the public service

---

In contrast, the auditor-general concluded that the “award of grant funding was not informed by an appropriate assessment process and sound advice”, and was contrary to principles of merit.

So, what is the status of the prime minister’s department compared to the auditor-general? And how would this have played out differently with a federal Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC)?

How was the affair handled by government?

The auditor-general is an independent officer of parliament, with the mandate to audit government finances. The position is independent from government and reports to parliament.

Alongside other integrity officers, such as the ombudsman and information commissioner, the auditor-general forms an important part of the Australian integrity framework. Their job is to hold government to account. They have significant coercive powers to compel documents and persons, which is essential to expose government wrongdoing.

The integrity officers have brought to light many examples of government maladministration. Yet they cannot compel government to change its practices – they only have the power of publicity and recommendation.

By referring the sports rorts affair to the prime minister’s department to investigate, the government is essentially conducting an internal investigation.

The department is under the full control of the prime minister. Like all senior public service executives, the department’s secretary, Gaetjens, is on a fixed-term contract without employment security.

The heyday of the mandarin is over. Departmental secretaries in the 1950s and 1960s had permanent tenure. By contrast, recent governments have been in the habit of sacking departmental secretaries and installing their allies in the positions.

This means an investigation by the auditor-general is far more independent than one by the secretary of the prime minister’s department. The auditor-general is independent of government. Unlike the Gaetjens report, his report is publicly published and tabled in parliament.

What would have happened with a federal ICAC?

A former NSW auditor-general has claimed a federal ICAC would have investigated the sports grants scandal.

So, how might this incident have played out if there was a federal ICAC?

First of all, it depends which version of a federal ICAC we are talking about. Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter has proposed a watered-down model of a Commonwealth Integrity Commission (CIC).

The threshold for investigation by Porter’s CIC model is high. It requires a reasonable suspicion of corruption amounting to a criminal offence before an investigation can even begin. It is doubtful the sports rort affair can meet this very high bar of suspected criminality.

---

Read more:
The proposed National Integrity Commission is a watered-down version of a federal ICAC

---

So it is unlikely the proposed CIC will even have the power to investigate this issue.

Even if the CIC could investigate, it would not have the power to conduct public hearings or make findings of corruption.

On the other hand, if a federal ICAC “with teeth” is implemented, it is more likely to have the power to investigate this alleged maladministration of public funds.

A strong federal ICAC would have the power to hold public hearings. It could more fully ventilate all issues surrounding this matter.

There have been broader questions about the alleged involvement of the prime minister’s office in the handling of the grants that remain unanswered. The prime minister has denied any such involvement.

A strong federal ICAC would have been able to compel ministers, public servants and ministerial advisers to give evidence. This would paint a better picture of political interference in Sports Australia’s decision-making.

A strong ICAC investigation would be far more independent than that of a departmental secretary, and its final report would be public. It would also be able to make findings of corruption, which could then be prosecuted in the courts.

How can things be improved?

McKenzie has resigned, which is emblematic of ministerial responsibility. The minister has taken the hit based on her failure to declare her conflict of interest.

But the Gaetjens finding that there has been no political interference in the sports grant allocation is rather convenient for the government.

Gaetjens’ conclusion was also flawed in stating that political considerations were not “the primary determining factor”.

The question was never whether partisanship was the primary determining factor: political considerations should not have been a consideration at all in awarding the grants. As the ministerial standards say: ministers must not take into account irrelevant considerations.

It would have been better if a truly independent body, such as a strong federal ICAC, conducted the investigation to assuage all doubts.

Another major issue is the interaction between the minister and Sports Australia, an independent statutory corporation.

Some jobs have been taken out of the hands of politicians and given to government corporations such as Sports Australia. This is to avoid the partisan interference and short-termism that characterises modern politics. An example is letting the Reserve Bank set interest rates, rather than politicians.

Yet, in this situation, the minister interfered with Sports Australia’s legal decision-making.

My research has shown government corporations set up by statute, such as Sports Australia, are subject to a high level of parliamentary, financial and legal accountability. They should thus be given the freedom to operate in keeping with their statutory mandate.

We still have work to do to tighten up rules to ensure the probity of procurements and grants. We also need to clarify the roles of ministers in relation to statutory corporations like Sports Australia. Only then can we say we have resolved the issues arising from the sports rorts affair.

Yee-Fui Ng, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Monash University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Celebrity concern about bushfires could do more harm than good. To help they need to put boots on the ground

Gabrielle Walters, The University of Queensland; Judith Mair, The University of Queensland, and Monica Chien, The University of Queensland

From Australian superstars such as Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, Chris Hemsworth and Nicole Kidman to Hollywood heavyweights including Ellen DeGeneres and Bette Midler, a lengthening list of celebrities are helping to shine a spotlight on Australia’s bushfires.

Some have donated large sums of money and used social media to publicise their donations, encouraging fans to follow suit. Some have used their profile and platforms such as the Golden Globes awards to draw attention to the fires. Others are donating items for auction or appearing in charity events.

---

Read more:
How to donate to Australian bushfire relief: give money, watch for scams and think long term

---

For attracting attention and money to a cause, celebrity-driven attention is hard to beat. But there’s also a downside. If that interest is superficial and fleeting, it may actually hinder recovery efforts in disaster-ravaged regions.

Our research into disaster recovery efforts for Victoria’s Gippsland region after the deadly “Black Saturday” fires in 2009 suggests celebrities’ best contribution needs to be in the weeks and months to come – and requires them putting “boots on the ground”.

Negative implications

Studies confirm the influence of messages from celebrities, be it brand choice, political opinion or charitable giving.

It’s great that celebrities want to use their influence for good causes. Not all celebrity advocacy, though, should be applauded uncritically. One study has suggested it is less effective than sometimes supposed for development causes, and can simplify a complex issue to a single outcome – usually giving money. This fails to address how people can make an ongoing difference in other ways.

In terms of natural disasters, a very practical way to help communities recover is the resumption of tourism. Perceptions play a big part in this, and celebrities can play a big part in forming images. It’s why they have long featured in tourism campaigns, from Paul Hogan in the 1980s to Kylie Minogue and others in the humorously idealised imagery presented by Tourism Australia to Britons a few weeks ago.

Tourism Australia’s ‘Matesong’ campaign fronted by Kyle Minogue has now been suspended.

Now these images are being replaced by the message globally that Australia is “on fire, literally”, and that much of the country is an “apocalyptic nightmare”.

Tourism effects

Even if celebrities have the best of intentions, their emotional appeals and shared of images of red skies and smoke-filled cities along with heartbreaking images of devastation and loss can contribute to fans cancelling holidays plans, even while they’re donating to bushfire appeals.

There are already reports, for example, of tourists aborting plans for visits months away. The Australian Tourism Industry Council says cancelled bookings in towns unaffected by the bushfires are up to 60%. The Australian Tourism Export Council estimates the loss of international bookings will cost the nation at least A$4.5 billion in 2020, hurting regional areas the most.

US singer Rihanna shared this graphic representation of the Australian bushfires, which was widely mistaken to be an image taken by a satellite.
Twitter

It doesn’t help when misleading information is spread, as the American singer Rihanna inadvertently did when she shared an image on Twitter that exaggerated the size of the bushfires. This image suggested huge swathes of Australia were no-go zones.

Ellen Degeneres did something similar in telling her audience “nearly a third of their habitat has been destroyed”. This was an exaggerated misstatement of Australia’s environment minister saying a third of koala habitat in New South Wales had been destroyed.

Our research confirms the further someone is from a destination in crisis, the more likely they are to be confused about the location and think a greater area is affected.

---

Read more:
6 things to ask yourself before you share a bushfire map on social media

---

Fires in the Blue Mountains area of New South Wales, for example, were called “the “Sydney fires” elsewhere in Australia. Overseas they were referred to as the “Australian bushfires”, confusing domestic and international tourists.

Where celebrities can really help

So while celebrities might have the very best of motivations, their contribution in generating donations in the short term might be offset by the longer-term effect of amplifying the misconception that Australia is not safe for tourists.

Affected areas and number of casualties from the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. Gippsland covers all of Victoria east of Melbourne.
Nick Carson/Wikipedia, CC BY-SA

This is demonstrated by past experience. After Victoria’s 2009 Black Saturday fires, the the Gippsland region experienced a major tourism downturn, despite just 5% of the region being directly affected.

But celebrites can also use their mass-pull to aid tourism recovery.

Our research suggests their star power is unmatched as a means to encourage tourists back to regions recovering from disaster.

In the case of Gippsland, we surveyed 691 people with nine different advertising messages. Themes included solidarity, community readiness and even short-term discounts. We found celebrity endorsement made the greatest impression, with test subjects indicating it made them more likely to visit the region.

In the months after the Black Saturday bushfires, former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins and legendary cricketer Shane Warne visited affected towns. These highly publicised events sent the message these towns were ready to welcome visitors again.

So celebrities can definitely help in the coming weeks and months.

They can share positive stories about local communities’ resilience, and maybe even visit.

This is likely to do more for recovery efforts in the long term than helping to spruik for donations.

Gabrielle Walters, Associate Professor, School of Business, The University of Queensland; Judith Mair, Associate professor, The University of Queensland, and Monica Chien, Senior lecturer, The University of Queensland

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

We have a vaccine for hepatitis B but here’s why we still need a cure

Around 5% of adults and 90% of babies who contract hepatitis B go on to have life-long infection that can only be managed with regular medication.
Ronald Rampsch/Shutterstock

Peter Revill, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and Margaret Littlejohn, Melbourne Health

Hepatitis B is blood-borne virus that packs a punch. Worldwide, more than 1.3 billion people have been infected with hepatitis B, and 257 million people have developed a life-long infection. This includes 240,000 Australians, many of whom are Indigenous.

Globally, transmission most commonly occurs from mother to baby or in early life. But it’s possible to be infected in adulthood, through sex or blood-to-blood contact.

Most people who are infected in adulthood develop a short infection which their immune response controls. But in around 5% of adults and 90% of babies, the immune response is ineffective and chronic infection develops.

---

Read more:
Dr G. Yunupingu’s legacy: it’s time to get rid of chronic hepatitis B in Indigenous Australia

---

Hepatitis B virus causes almost 40% of all liver cancer, which is the fifth most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide.

Australian discovery

Hepatitis B virus was discovered in the serum of an Indigenous Australian in 1965 and was first known as the “Australia antigen”.

This quickly led to the development of an effective vaccine in the 1980s, which is now available worldwide. The vaccine has been given to Australian infants since May 2000.

(If you weren’t vaccinated as a baby, you might want to consider doing so through your GP, particularly if you plan to travel to Asia and Africa where hepatitis B is common.)

Unfortunately the vaccine doesn’t do anything for the 240,000 or so Australians who currently live with chronic hepatitis B. Only around 60% of these people have been diagnosed; the rest don’t know they’re infected and don’t receive appropriate care.

How is it currently treated?

There is no cure for chronic hepatitis B virus.

In most cases, treatment requires taking a pill every day for life to remain effective and to reduce the risk of liver cancer. Even then, it doesn’t eliminate the risk.

Chronic hepatitis B hasn’t been cured so far in part because current therapies have failed to destroy the viral reservoir, where the virus hides in the cell.

This is in contrast to hepatitis C virus, which has no such viral reservoir and can now be cured with as little as 12 weeks of treatment.

---

Read more:
In contrast to Australia’s success with hepatitis C, our response to hepatitis B is lagging

---

Despite the huge human and economic toll of chronic hepatitis B, research to cure the disease remains underfunded. There is a misconception that because there is a vaccine, hepatitis B is no longer a problem.

The availability of effective cures for the unrelated hepatitis C virus has also led people to believe that “viral hepatitis” is no longer a problem.

Experts estimate that liver cancer deaths will substantially increase in coming decades without a cure for hepatitis B, despite deaths from most cancers decreasing.

Hepatitis B causes 40% of all liver cancer.
Napocska/Shutterstock

How far have we got?

Some exciting research is underway around the world, including the recent identification of the “cell receptor” which allows the virus to infect the body. This has enabled studies of the complete virus replication cycle including the viral reservoir that is untouched by current therapies.

New approaches to a possible cure include mechanisms to block the virus’ entry into the cell and to stop the virus from making the proteins it needs to replicate and infect new cells.

Studies are also underway to enhance patients’ immune responses so their own natural defences can control or even eliminate the virus. This is similar to immunotherapies already being used to treat some cancers.

---

Read more:
Explainer: the A, B, C, D and E of hepatitis

---

It’s likely a hepatitis B cure will require a dual-pronged approach, directly targeting the virus while also enhancing the immune response in people who are infected.

The goal is to reduce the amount of virus in the body and restore the person’s immune responses. This is called a “functional cure” and is similar to what happens when a person naturally gets rid of the virus. It would also mean they didn’t need to take drugs any more.

Some of these approaches are now in early stage human clinical trials. More than 30 drugs have been developed and are being tested in people with chronic hepatitis B. However, much more work needs to be done to achieve a cure.

Peter Revill, Senior Medical Scientist at VIDRL, Royal Melbourne Hospital, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and Margaret Littlejohn, Medical Scientist, Melbourne Health

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Allegations against the CBA show the need for a Royal Commission into the banks

Thomas Clarke, University of Technology Sydney

The Commonwealth Bank is facing another scandal as the Australian Transactions Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) launches civil proceedings accusing the bank of being complicit in money laundering.

This exposes a deeply worrying prospect, that the Australian public are vulnerable to crime and terrorism directly funded through the Australian banking system.

AUSTRAC alleges CBA breached the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act (2006) 53,700 times since 2012, where transactions were not reported by the bank, or reported too late. The bank faces a potential penalty of A$18 million per breach, which could amount to billions of dollars.

According to AUSTRAC, criminals deposited cash, amounting to tens of millions of dollars, over a period of two years in intelligent deposit machines where it was automatically counted and credited instantly to the nominated recipient account. The funds were then available for immediate transfer to other accounts both domestically and internationally.

In their evidence AUSTRAC details how four identified criminal syndicates were able to readily use CBA ATMs to breach the A$10,000 transaction threshold on 1640 occasions amounting to A$17.3 million. A total of A$625 million of suspicious transactions flowed through these CBA ATMs.

CBA’s response to these serious allegations is that it reports 4 million transactions to AUSTRAC per year contributing to the effort to “combat any suspicious activity as quickly and efficiently as we can.” The bank insists all key personnel have been trained in compliance with the Money-Laundering Act. The CBA acknowledges there was a software fault with a number of their ATMs which allowed these transactions to take place, but apparently this took several years to fix.

Unfortunately this response in the circumstances only provokes further questions.

Regulators asleep at the wheel

What this really shows up is the government’s “light touch” regulatory approach which translates into soft touch regulation. It seems regulators in Australia are too frightened to take action even when there is mounting evidence of illegality.

AUSTRAC itself did not launch any proceedings under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act until 2015. This followed a lengthy report of the Financial Action Task Force which concluded:

[AUSTRAC’s] graduated approach does not seem to be adequate to ensure compliance.

Since then AUSTRAC has taken action against Tabcorp on a money-laundering case which reached a A$45 million settlement in February 2017. This contrasts with far larger fines imposed on international banks for money laundering including a US$1.2 billion fine for HSBC and a US$262 million fine for Standard Chartered in 2012 from the US Justice Department.

At a US Senate hearings in 2012, a HSBC chief compliance officer famously quit his post on the spot in answering money laundering allegations, implying he could not defend the indefensible.

The Australian banking industry has faced minimal pressure to reform compared to other countries, where the restructuring of the banks is progressing. Australia has seen a succession of inquiries however each has focused on particular aspects of the banks functioning and proposed specific reforms.

It will require a Royal Commission into the Australian banks to examine the structural and systemic failures of the banks. The banks have become the main providers of not only retail but investment banking, insurance, superannuation and financial advice, and this deserves critical scrutiny.

If the AUSTRAC allegations against the CBA are proven in the Federal Court, this matter is of a different order of magnitude to earlier problems. It suggests a degree of irresponsibility which is unacceptable in major financial institutions.

It also suggests it’s deeply embedded in the banks cultural and operating processes, which undermines the security of Australian citizens. This would demand a substantive inquiry into the management, integrity and culture of the banks that only a Royal Commission could provide.

In the meantime, the CBA needs to provide firm evidence to the Australian public that none of its ATM machines can continue to be used for money laundering. It also needs to prove there are procedures in place for ensuring all suspicious banking activity by potential criminals or terrorists is fully reported to the Australian authorities as soon as the CBA has any knowledge of such activity.

Thomas Clarke, Professor, UTS Business, University of Technology Sydney

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Affordable housing shortfall leaves 1.3m households in need and rising – study

Around one in seven Australia households either cannot get into housing at market rates or are struggling to pay the rent.
shutterstock

Steven Rowley, Curtin University and Chris Leishman, University of Adelaide

A new report by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) reveals, for the first time, the extent of housing need in Australia. An estimated 1.3 million households are in a state of housing need, whether unable to access market housing or in a position of rental stress. This figure is predicted to rise to 1.7 million by 2025.

To put it in perspective, 1.3 million is around 14% of Australian households. This national total includes 373,000 households in New South Wales, where the number is expected to increase by 80% to more than 670,000 by 2025 under the baseline economic assumptions of the modelling.

The first graph below shows the average annual level of housing need to 2025. The second, showing the percentages of households, permits a direct comparison by state. NSW and Queensland are in the worst position. The ACT is calculated to have the lowest proportional level of need.

https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/3xWkX/1/

https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/efNLj/1/

What does this mean for households in need?

Housing need is defined as:

… the aggregate of households unable to access market-provided housing or requiring some form of housing assistance in the private rental market to avoid a position of rental stress.

This includes potential households that are unable to form because their income is too low to afford to rent in the private rental market. These households would traditionally rely on public housing and community housing to meet their needs. However, more and more are being forced into the private rental market, paying housing costs they are unable to afford without making significant sacrifices.

To 2025, on average 190,000 potential households in NSW will be unable to access market housing in a given year. The graph below is the most revealing as it illustrates the gap between affordable housing demand and supply.

https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/x5Hxs/2/

The lack of social housing and subsidised rental housing prevents such households forming under affordable conditions. Many will manage to form but will have to spend well over 30% of their income on housing costs to do so, putting them in a position of financial stress.

The results also reveal the increasing pressure the affordable housing shortfall places on the housing assistance budget, notably Commonwealth Rent Assistance.

The absence of a significant new supply of affordable housing – there has been no large-scale program since the National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) began in 2008 – has left state governments trying to find ways to plug the affordability gap.

Responses have been largely on the demand side, such as first home buyer concessions recently announced in NSW. But such incentives are no use for low-income households. To help them, intervention needs to be on the supply side.

How does Australia compare?

The AHURI research built on ideas emerging from research into housing need in the UK. It revealed interesting differences between the two countries.

UK government policy prior to 2010 emphasised the role of the planning system in helping to substantially increase affordable housing supply. This reflected evidence from England and Scotland that found a link between low levels of new housing supply and higher and rising house prices.

In this project, we found plenty of evidence of deteriorating housing affordability in Australia. But we did not find a particularly strong relationship between housing supply and price growth. This might reflect how other drivers of deteriorating housing affordability are more important in Australia – such as tax incentives for investors.

These findings suggest we need to look more closely at how new supply and investment demand interact, and in what circumstances boosting new supply is likely to improve affordability.

From our analysis of individuals’ labour market circumstances and incomes, it was also clear that the Australian workforce has not escaped the erosion of secure, full-time employment opportunities seen in other countries.

The combination of widespread insecure, part-time employment opportunities, high housing costs and low supply of rented social housing means the housing of many working Australians is extremely precarious.

How was the research done?

The research modelled housing need at the state and territory level to 2025 using an underlying set of economic assumptions and interrelated models on household formation, housing markets, labour markets and tenure choice.

The models were underpinned by data from the Housing, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and house price and rent data.

This research delivers, for the first time in Australia, a consistent and replicable methodology for assessing housing need. It can be used to inform resource allocation and simulate the impact of policy decisions on housing outcomes.

The intention is to further develop the model to assess housing need at the level of local government areas.

So, what are the policy implications?

The scale of the affordable housing shortfall requires major action from federal and state governments.

NRAS had its problems but at least delivered a supply of below-market housing. Australia cannot rely on the private sector to deliver housing for low-income households without some form of government subsidy as it is simply not profitable to do so.

The question is what government is going to be prepared, or even able, to spend big to close the affordable housing supply gap?

Steven Rowley, Director, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Curtin Research Centre, Curtin University and Chris Leishman, Professor of Housing Economics, University of Adelaide

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Greens resignations show a need to change dual citizenship requirements

The Greens have lost their two co-deputy leaders, Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters, in a matter of days.
AAP/Mick Tsikas

Lorraine Finlay, Murdoch University

On Tuesday, the Greens’ Larissa Waters became the second senator in under a week to resign from parliament, after discovering she held dual citizenship and was therefore ineligible to hold her seat. Her Canadian citizenship revelation followed Greens co-deputy leader Scott Ludlam’s resignation, after he was found to hold New Zealand citizenship.

It is expected that the Senate will refer both matters to the High Court, sitting in its capacity as the Court of Disputed Returns. The court will almost certainly find both senators ineligible based on their dual citizenship. It will declare the resulting vacancies should be filled by a recount of the ballot papers from the 2016 federal election.

What does the Constitution say?

Section 44 of the Constitution sets out several disqualifications that result in a person being:

… incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a senator or a member of the House of Representatives.

One of those is Section 44(i). It disqualifies any person who:

… is under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or citizen of a foreign power.

Section 44(i) effectively means that dual citizens are not ordinarily eligible to be elected to parliament.

The High Court has previously held that becoming naturalised as an Australian citizen is not enough on its own to escape this disqualification. A person must also take “all reasonable steps” to renounce their foreign citizenship. Exactly what this requires will depend on the circumstances of each particular case and will, in particular, depend on the law of the relevant foreign country.

In the case of both New Zealand and Canada the process is straightforward. Specific government websites provide clear advice on how to apply to renounce your citizenship.

So, by failing to make a request for release from their foreign citizenship, neither Waters nor Ludlam took reasonable steps to satisfy the requirements of Section 44(i).

Not only does Section 44(i) mean the two Greens senators are unable to remain in the parliament, but they were never actually eligible to be elected in the first place.

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Why are dual nationals ineligible?

Section 44(i) was originally designed to ensure MPs had a clear and undivided loyalty to Australia, and would not be subject to any improper influence from foreign governments.

This reflected the position in the UK. Those born outside “the Realm” were disqualified from holding office in the Privy Council or parliament.

The history and context of this section is important. At the time of the first Australian parliament, nearly half of all members had been born overseas – and any person born in Australia was a British subject. The legal concept of Australian citizenship did not exist until 1949.

Before 2002, any Australian citizen who became a citizen of another country automatically lost their Australian citizenship. Much has changed since Section 44(i) was first drafted.

Should Section 44(i) be reformed?

Several expert bodies and parliamentary committees have considered Section 44(i) over the years and recommended reform. The section has been criticised on several grounds, including its archaic language, unclear scope, and the sheer number of Australian citizens who are potentially disqualified under its terms.

Of particular note, given the events of the past week, has been the criticism that many Australian citizens are likely to be unaware that they are actually dual citizens.

This is not simply an academic concern. Several potential MPs have been ruled ineligible in the past on the basis of holding dual citizenship, including the two major party candidates in the 1992 Wills by-election and a One Nation Senator elected for Queensland at the 1998 federal election. And earlier this year the Court of Disputed Returns rejected a challenge to the eligibility of independent senator Lucy Gichuhi that was based around her previous Kenyan citizenship.

Figures from the 2001 Census show approximately 3 million Australian citizens were born overseas. Among the 224 MPs who currently remain in parliament, 23 were born overseas.

While not every Australian who is born overseas remains a dual citizen, these figures do highlight the significant number of people who are potentially impacted by Section 44(i).

But reform can only be achieved through a constitutional referendum, which is itself a challenging exercise.

There are arguments weighing against any change. The principles that underpin Section 44(i) are still of continued importance. There is no doubt that the integrity of parliament and the loyalty of MPs are vitally important. This issue has been highlighted only recently with claims about the influence of foreign donations in Australian politics.

When considering changes to Section 44(i), the key is to strike the right balance between maximising participation by Australian citizens while also safeguarding the national interest. Given the events of the past week, now is an opportune time to engage in that conversation.

Lorraine Finlay, Lecturer in Law, Murdoch University

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Turnbull and Shorten urge need to curb terrorists’ opportunities on the internet

Both the government and the opposition will warn about terrorists exploiting cyberspace.
Mick Tsikas/AAP

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten will both home in on the importance of tackling cyber issues as part of the fight against terrorism, in parliamentary speeches on Tuesday.

In a security update on the threats facing Australia at home and abroad, Turnbull will say that an “online civil society is as achievable as an offline one”.

“The privacy and security of a terrorist can never be more important than public safety,” he says in notes released ahead of the address.

“The rights and protections of the vast overwhelming majority of Australians must outweigh the rights of those who will do them harm.

“That is truly what balancing the priority of community safety with individual liberties and our way of life is about.”

The government would not take an “if it ain’t broke we won’t fix it” mentality, Turnbull says – rather, Australia is at the forefront of efforts to address future threats.

Attorney-General George Brandis will visit Canada this month to meet his Five Eyes security counterparts – the others are from Britain, the US, New Zealand as well as Canada – and discuss what more can be done by likeminded nations and with the communications and technology industry “to ensure terrorists and organised criminals are not able to operate with impunity within ungoverned digital spaces online”.

Shorten, in his address (an extract of which has been released), will say: “We need to recognise this is a 21st-century conflict – being fought online as well as in the streets. Terrorists are using sophisticated online strategies as well as crude weapons of violence.”

He says this is where the private sector has a responsibility.

“For a long time Daesh has used the internet as an instrument of radicalisation. Through Twitter and Facebook they boast of a propaganda arm that can reach into every home in the world: spreading hate, recruiting followers and encouraging imitators.

“And with encryption technology like Whatsapp and Telegram they can securely communicate not just a message of violence – but instructions in how to carry it out.”

Shorten will acknowledge many internet providers and social media platforms such as Facebook work hard to detect and remove offensive content, namely child pornography and other forms of violent crime.

“But we need more – and these companies have the resources and the capacity to do more.

“As good corporate citizens and responsible members of democratic nations, I’m confident these tech companies will seek to do everything they can to assist the fight against terror.

“We must always be mindful of the rule of the law and the proper protections of our citizens – but we must be equally focused on adapting to new mediums and new technologies to detect and prevent new threats,” Shorten says.

The security focus in parliament comes after last week’s attack in Melbourne, events in Britain, and Friday’s decision by the Council of Australian Governments that there should be a presumption against parole and bail for people who have had any involvement with terrorism.

The government this week will introduce its tough new provisions governing visa and citizenship requirements. They include giving Immigration Minister Peter Dutton power to overrule Administrative Appeal Tribunal decisions on citizenship. Dutton said this would align citizenship provisions with the power he already has in relation to visas. There would still be the right to appeal to the Federal Court. Labor will announce its attitude when it sees the legislation.

https://www.podbean.com/media/player/icjdu-6b9a25?from=site&skin=1&share=1&fonts=Helvetica&auto=0&download=0

Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Unwritten Rules Everyone Needs To Follow

The link below is to a great article concerning unwritten rules for all – maybe a few readers could pick up a much needed hint or two?

For more visit:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/daves4/unwritten-rules-everyone-needs-to-follow

Australian Politics: 17 July 2013

The asylum seeker controversy in Australia is deepening, with four more deaths after another tragedy at sea last night. There is yet another boat in distress right now as well. Compassion would seem to be much in need from where I sit, yet most Australians seem to have very little when it comes to the plight of refugees and/or asylum seekers.

Still, an election can’t be too far away as the various parties begin the usual pledges to spend money on this and that – certainly infrastructure needs are great in this country.

Meanwhile Kevin Rudd has held a community cabinet meeting overnight.

Australia: Detention Centres Are a Disgrace

The link below is to an article reporting on the recent 4 Corners program and the Australian detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru. I have seen the program and it has confirmed my view that our asylum detention centres are a disgrace and should be shut down. We as a country need to reconnect with the principles of compassion and humanitarianism. 

For more visit:
http://www.islandsbusiness.com/news/australia/1021/ashamed-to-be-australian-doctor-slams-manus-island/