On Thu, Nov 06, 2014 at 01:32:12AM +0000 Aryan Ameri said:
On Thu Nov 06 2014 at 09:52:49 thelionroars <thelionroars1337@gmail.com> wrote:
As the metadata retention plans are essentially bipartisan, would the conversation on which party is worse be more appropriate in a new thread (mods)?
I very much second this.
I started this discussion for a specific reason: there is a bill in front of Parliament that is bad policy in every sense. I think whichever party we like or dislike, we can agree on that.
The specifics on this are that the Greens and a couple of independent Senators oppose it. The Liberal party favours it. The ALP's position is not set yet. There is a chance that by lobbying Labor parliamentarians, especially Senators, this bill might be defeated in the Senate.
The fact that this discussion didn't stay on topic for more than two posts, and quickly descended into Liberal vs. Labor is exactly why we can't organise and achieve anything politically.
Please start a new conversation to talk about past management of fiscal issues between ALP vs Libs and all other off topic issues. If you care about this specific bill, and have something to contribute to it, then great.
What follows are my personal opinions. Data retention is a dangerous thing: numerous innocent people will get caught up in the bureaucratic mess because of incompetent government employees. I think that Aryan has done the right thing. It is a good idea to call up local senators or MPs and let them know what you think. Remember, it is the squeaky wheel that gets the grease. If Labor does not vote against the data retention bill, it will lose a lot of votes to the Greens. It is good to remind Labor politicians about this. Sam