Victor Perton on federal privacy legislation

[Robin Whittle]

Here's a good start to the week:

Widely respected Victorian state Liberal member of parliament, Victor 
Perton, is reported on the front page of The Age as calling for 
federal privacy legislation.

The first few paras from Garth Boreham's article, which you can read 
at:

   http://www.theage.com.au/daily/971027/news/news3.html

   A prominent State Government MP has called for wide-ranging 
   private data protection laws, warning that society risked "losing 
   some of its humanity" without stricter privacy legislation.

   Mr Victor Perton, the chairman of State Parliament's law reform 
   committee, said that with the advent of high-tech computer 
   databases, delays in cracking down on privacy breaches would be 
   tragic for the community.

   He said Victoria was developing privacy laws to cover data 
   protection by Government and private agencies, but federal 
   legislation would be preferable.

   "Unless we have private data- protection laws regulating all 
   sectors of Australia, we risk losing some of our humanity, 
   becoming mere biological subjects of data profiles, 
   psychologically manipulated to act, consume and vote according to 
   the desires of the so-called spin doctors," Mr Perton said.


Victor Perton is apparently the first Australian member of 
parliament to have a web site:

   http://home.vicnet.net.au/~victorp/

"This site is focussed on liberalism, human rights and law reform."

This site has the text of the speech which was reported in the 
article.

Not on the Age web site is a carton by (??) Wilcox.  Suited. 
blank-eyed businessman sits in large power-chair, under the title of 
" 'Private' Sector" and says:

    "Thanks to databases, what used to be none of our business
    is now a large part of our business."




- Robin


| Robin Whittle         Consumer advocacy in telecommunications, |
|                       especially privacy.                      |
|                                                                |
| First Principles      Research and expression - music, tele-   |
|                       communications, Internet music marketing,|
|                       human factors in technology adoption.    |
|                       Consulting and technical writing.        |
|                                                                |
| Real World Interfaces Electronics and software for music.      |
|                                                                |
|   rw@firstpr.com.au   http://www.firstpr.com.au                |
|                                                                |
|   11 Miller St. Heidelberg Heights 3081 Melbourne Australia    |
|   Ph +61 3 9459 2889  Fax +61 3 9458 1736                      |