TOTT News

Queensland’s Privacy Commissioner has raised concerned over plans to use facial recognition technology to identify suspected ‘terrorists’ during the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in 2018.

Biometric identification technology is set to be deployed on the Gold Coast public transport network early next year, including trains, trams and buses at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, to identify potential ‘terror suspects’ before they can interrupt the proceedings.

Parents in Victoria have raised concerns over new proposals by the government to change regulations surrounding home education in the state, including tougher measures on the process of approval and restrictions on the curriculum used by families at home.

The new changes, introduced early this year, will also introduce an increase in powers for government authorities to monitor and intervene in the education process, a move that has homeschooling advocates campaigning to shut the legislation down.

Australia’s Customs and Border Protection will install 92 facial recognition terminals in international airports as part of an $18 million deal to replace passports with a “contactless” biometric identification system.

The program will see all international passengers processed by biometric recognition of the face, iris or fingerprints, incoming paper passenger cards abolished, and manned stations replaced by electronic stations and automatic triage.

Parents have been told their concerns about privacy are ‘unwarranted’ after being advised children as young as five will have their fingerprints scanned at school as part of a controversial new biometric student attendance record-keeping program being introduced across Australia.

The system, an adaptation of previous programs that were suspended by the government due to privacy concerns, will allow students to register they are at school by placing their finger on a pad.

The Victorian government has announced the introduction of legislation aimed at permanently banning the development of unconventional gas explorations throughout the state, including coal seam gas and fracking, in an unprecedented victory for campaigners across Australia.

The legislation, the first of its kind in the country, will be introduced into state parliament later this year, and will be aimed at protecting Victoria’s agriculture sector and alleviating farmers’ concerns about environmental and health risks associated with hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking.

In the aftermath of one of the biggest digital collapses in Australian history, the Turnbull government’s response to the Census fail has left more questions than it has answers, as officials continue to flip-flop over vague technical explanations and even contradict themselves on whether the DDOS attack it announced this morning was even an attack.

In the following opinion piece, Ethan Nash takes a look at some of the companies and departments behind the 2016 Census and gives a brief history of government behaviour with the privacy of Australian citizens.

For more than 100 years, the Census has “provided a snapshot of Australia, showing how our nation has changed over time and allowing us to plan for the future.”

However, as Australians prepare to partake in the latest Census tomorrow, there has been some concerning new changes to the process that has outraged citizens and privacy advocates, as Ethan Nash explains.

It has been one week since the world was left in a state of shock following the results of a referendum in the United Kingdom to exit the European Union, with many debates continuing from campaigners about the long-lasting effects a decision like this could have on the world.

In the following feature, Ethan Nash re-examines the history of the EU, from the early days of united trading in Europe, to the rise of a powerful Anglo-American political lobby behind the original campaign, and the vested interests that continue to control the EU and benefit from the current European financial crisis.

A Melbourne gym that offered to teach its members to use firearms like elite Israeli army snipers in April is now offering to help Australians join the Israel Defence Forces, it has been revealed.

IDF Training is currently recruiting and offering support to young Australians seeking to join the IDF in response to the recent spate of “lone wolf” attacks in Israel, sparking much controversy and debate in relation to the recent ‘foreign fighter’ legislative pieces passed through the Australian parliament.

One year ago, as part of a multimedia expansion for TOTT News, we announced the co-founding of a grassroots online radio project called the Australian Roundtable Podcast (ARP).

This week, after 50 official episodes and three G20 specials in late-2014, the show wrapped up its first season with a special broadcast on September 20th, 2015, reflecting on the past year of news and affairs.