5 ms·

The article mentions both child abusers and terrorists yet the laws will rarely be used for that. Mandatory metadata retention was also bought in for the same r

The article mentions both child abusers and terrorists yet the laws will rarely be used for that. Mandatory metadata retention was also bought in for the same reasons and has barely appeared as evidence in any subsequent cases, despite >300,000 warrantless metadata requests last year, overseen by a handful of public servants behind closed doors, in a country of 25 million people. Another very concerning law is about "fixated persons", which was bought in with big budgets and huge teams of detectives solely dedicated to going after lone wolf terrorists, so far the only person charged is a former mining executive who was a respected lawyer and Head of Compliance at one of Australia's biggest gas companies (One of the largest gas exporters in the world.) She turned whistleblower on some corrupt deals and environmental coverups involving certain fracking leases and the government. After contacting the Mining Minister about it over the space of a few months, instead of investigating, the Minister referred her to the police, she was then deemed a "fixated person", which involved incarceration without charge, being taken to a mental institution and forcibly injected with anti-psychotic drugs for months. Eventually a judge decided she could go home. All media coverage of it is banned in Australia until the trial is finished, which has been postponed at every hearing for over a year now, time heals all wounds I guess. It's naive to think that those in power wouldn't abuse such laws. I'm all for giving police the powers they need and perhaps even more as long as there is transparent oversight and it's targeted, but the complete opposite is happening in many places on Earth right now. Monsters flourish in the darkness.

antidesitter 8y ago
Do you have more information about the case you’re referring to? I’d like to learn more.
josephagoss 8y ago
Regarding your example of this person being forced into a mental institution, are you able to provide a source? I'm interested in learning more especially as I'm living in Australia, this is quite terrifying indeed.
- d0lph 8y ago
  I did a search for "Fiona Wilson Australia fixated" and got back a few articles, not familiar enough with AU news to determine what is tabloids and what is not. Please post if anyone finds something reputable.
  - kirrent 8y ago
    Did the same search. Everything is a tabloid or worse. Nothing reliable.
    - ShorsHammer 8y ago
      Wow that's a scary argument from authority, but you are right, only dubious blogs currently write about it. The mainstream media are highly aware of the case, they are all legally blocked from mentioning it until the trial is finished. A good article on the fixated persons unit by a QLD lawyer: https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/queensland-polices-orwellian-fixated-persons-unit,11395 https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/queenslan...
  - deepspace 8y ago
    Same here. The most comprehensive write-up I could find was the blog post linked below. It contains a list of references but they all seem to point to irrelevant content, or to shady-looking 'news sources'. http://www.blotreport.com/australian-politics/are-the-thought-police-coming/ http://www.blotreport.com/australian-politics/are-the-though...
  - Bendingo 8y ago
    This source [1] is not tabloid and has conducted thorough investigations of other stories [2][3] that MSM ignores. [1] https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/queensland-polices-orwellian-fixated-persons-unit,11395 https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/queenslan... [2] https://independentaustralia.net/jacksonville https://independentaustralia.net/jacksonville [3] https://independentaustralia.net/ashbygate https://independentaustralia.net/ashbygate
- 8y ago
remoteorbust 8y ago
> she was then deemed a "fixated person", which involved incarceration without charge, being taken to a mental institution and forcibly injected with anti-psychotic drugs for months. Eventually a judge decided she could go home. All media coverage of it is banned in Australia until the trial is finished, which has been postponed at every hearing for over a year now Holy shit. Maybe I'll stop complaining about the US plastering the names of the accused all over if this is the alternative.
- mirimir 8y ago
  Indeed, that reminds me of the former Soviet Union :(
- homonculus1 8y ago
  Yep, that's the entire point. It would be horrifying to have your name broadcast in connection to some heinous crime you didn't commit, but the alternative to broadcasting that is effectively secret trials. People should be able to view due process, they just need to withhold judgement until the facts come out in court.
  - techdragon 8y ago
    The problem is that the average passer by, John/Jane Doe, doesn’t on average care enough about the abstract reasons why they should withhold judgment, they instead react along the line of “well if they are being investigated they are probably guilty” which is results in the public typically judging anyone dragged into the judicial process. So it’s actually inverted outcomes from what you described, secret is normally good, (with obvious exceptions, such as the case in point) and public is normally bad.
    - ShorsHammer 8y ago
      Completely agree, most trials should be reported fearlessly after completion and not have speculation or the court of public opinion loom over the judge/jury beforehand. Yet it seems to be abused here in order to protect cozy relationships between a certain big business and the government. Whistleblowers proven correct should be held up on a pedestal and highly respected, not thrown to the wolves with little chance of future employment.
eftychis 8y ago
I am speechless... No literary. The moment, I hope things are improving and people become more involved and don't stand for this ..., things like these pop up as a form of disillusionment. Her mistake I guess was contacting the minister or the minister's circle, who are probably in on this? P.S. It seems the whistle-blower protections in Australia are ... lacking to say the least. Anyone care to pitch in? I can find a bunch of articles with horror stories.
- cam_l 8y ago
  It is not good. Here is another one. http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-28/witness-k-and-bernard-collaery-charged-intelligence-act-breach/9919268?pfmredir=sm http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-28/witness-k-and-berna...
strken 8y ago
Do you have any media coverage on Fiona Wilson from outside Australia? The lack of information makes it very difficult to work out what's going on.
CPAhem 8y ago
Former Origin Energy executive and whistleblower Fiona Wilson was detained by the new Queensland Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (QFTAC) and injected against her will and without any charges laid against her. Fiona has since been released but must report for her monthly injections otherwise she will be detained again. https://www.gofundme.com/barrister-needed-for-fiona-wilson https://www.gofundme.com/barrister-needed-for-fiona-wilson
- locusm 8y ago
  Live in Queensland, thats multiple levels of fucked up and never heard of it.
  - ShorsHammer 8y ago
    Media outlets often have to censor themselves, legal notices to pull articles in Australia are routine. The problem with this case is how it's been dragged out, silenced and the defendant slowly bled dry with legal fees, by the time it sees the light of day it will be old news. A while ago the name of a senior state politician was pending trial on child pornography charges, there was a massive undertaking to ensure his name never got mentioned in print for the few months before trial.
BLKNSLVR 8y ago
That's fucking scary. Never heard that story, will be looking into it. Process for any whistleblowers: - Don't go to your boss - Don't go to the authorities - Don't go to anyone who may be remotely suspected of having any involvement or benefit from the activities - Research how to protect your identity online (this is a bit recursive, as researching how to protect your identity online may set off flags if you are suspected as the whistleblower) - Burner phone - Burner laptop - Burner email address(es) - Tor - public wifi (know where the cameras are in the area and make sure you're unrecognisable on them, stake it out in winter when it's more acceptable to have your face covered with a scarf or something) - Contact a respected journalist that's NOT in your local area - Try to make sure the journalist has the facility to allow documents to be transferred by a SecureDrop system or similar Australia's federal political-class appear to be deep in the pockets of mining companies given the extent of the resistance to renewable energy. I'd almost consider it naive to go to a politician about any kind of mining-related corruption in Australia. Edit: Just noticed CPAHem's post saying it was QFTAC that got Fiona Wilson 'committed'. The Q stands for Queensland. To give you an idea of how protective the Queensland political class is of the mining and energy status quo, they're trying to get a NEW Coal Power Plant built in Queensland, and they have enough power behind them that the Federal Government is not flat-out saying no. There are no banks, Australian or otherwise, willing to fund the building of a new coal power plant because it's so far from financial viability that even existing coal power plants are shutting down because they can't compete on power prices.

antidesitter 8y ago

Do you have more information about the case you’re referring to? I’d like to learn more.

josephagoss 8y ago

Regarding your example of this person being forced into a mental institution, are you able to provide a source? I'm interested in learning more especially as I'm living in Australia, this is quite terrifying indeed.

d0lph 8y ago
I did a search for "Fiona Wilson Australia fixated" and got back a few articles, not familiar enough with AU news to determine what is tabloids and what is not. Please post if anyone finds something reputable.
- kirrent 8y ago
  Did the same search. Everything is a tabloid or worse. Nothing reliable.
  - ShorsHammer 8y ago
    Wow that's a scary argument from authority, but you are right, only dubious blogs currently write about it. The mainstream media are highly aware of the case, they are all legally blocked from mentioning it until the trial is finished. A good article on the fixated persons unit by a QLD lawyer: https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/queensland-polices-orwellian-fixated-persons-unit,11395 https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/queenslan...
- deepspace 8y ago
  Same here. The most comprehensive write-up I could find was the blog post linked below. It contains a list of references but they all seem to point to irrelevant content, or to shady-looking 'news sources'. http://www.blotreport.com/australian-politics/are-the-thought-police-coming/ http://www.blotreport.com/australian-politics/are-the-though...
- Bendingo 8y ago
  This source [1] is not tabloid and has conducted thorough investigations of other stories [2][3] that MSM ignores. [1] https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/queensland-polices-orwellian-fixated-persons-unit,11395 https://independentaustralia.net/life/life-display/queenslan... [2] https://independentaustralia.net/jacksonville https://independentaustralia.net/jacksonville [3] https://independentaustralia.net/ashbygate https://independentaustralia.net/ashbygate
8y ago

remoteorbust 8y ago

> she was then deemed a "fixated person", which involved incarceration without charge, being taken to a mental institution and forcibly injected with anti-psychotic drugs for months. Eventually a judge decided she could go home. All media coverage of it is banned in Australia until the trial is finished, which has been postponed at every hearing for over a year now Holy shit. Maybe I'll stop complaining about the US plastering the names of the accused all over if this is the alternative.

mirimir 8y ago
Indeed, that reminds me of the former Soviet Union :(
homonculus1 8y ago
Yep, that's the entire point. It would be horrifying to have your name broadcast in connection to some heinous crime you didn't commit, but the alternative to broadcasting that is effectively secret trials. People should be able to view due process, they just need to withhold judgement until the facts come out in court.
- techdragon 8y ago
  The problem is that the average passer by, John/Jane Doe, doesn’t on average care enough about the abstract reasons why they should withhold judgment, they instead react along the line of “well if they are being investigated they are probably guilty” which is results in the public typically judging anyone dragged into the judicial process. So it’s actually inverted outcomes from what you described, secret is normally good, (with obvious exceptions, such as the case in point) and public is normally bad.
  - ShorsHammer 8y ago
    Completely agree, most trials should be reported fearlessly after completion and not have speculation or the court of public opinion loom over the judge/jury beforehand. Yet it seems to be abused here in order to protect cozy relationships between a certain big business and the government. Whistleblowers proven correct should be held up on a pedestal and highly respected, not thrown to the wolves with little chance of future employment.

eftychis 8y ago

I am speechless... No literary. The moment, I hope things are improving and people become more involved and don't stand for this ..., things like these pop up as a form of disillusionment. Her mistake I guess was contacting the minister or the minister's circle, who are probably in on this? P.S. It seems the whistle-blower protections in Australia are ... lacking to say the least. Anyone care to pitch in? I can find a bunch of articles with horror stories.

cam_l 8y ago
It is not good. Here is another one. http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-28/witness-k-and-bernard-collaery-charged-intelligence-act-breach/9919268?pfmredir=sm http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-28/witness-k-and-berna...

strken 8y ago

Do you have any media coverage on Fiona Wilson from outside Australia? The lack of information makes it very difficult to work out what's going on.

CPAhem 8y ago

Former Origin Energy executive and whistleblower Fiona Wilson was detained by the new Queensland Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (QFTAC) and injected against her will and without any charges laid against her. Fiona has since been released but must report for her monthly injections otherwise she will be detained again. https://www.gofundme.com/barrister-needed-for-fiona-wilson https://www.gofundme.com/barrister-needed-for-fiona-wilson

locusm 8y ago
Live in Queensland, thats multiple levels of fucked up and never heard of it.
- ShorsHammer 8y ago
  Media outlets often have to censor themselves, legal notices to pull articles in Australia are routine. The problem with this case is how it's been dragged out, silenced and the defendant slowly bled dry with legal fees, by the time it sees the light of day it will be old news. A while ago the name of a senior state politician was pending trial on child pornography charges, there was a massive undertaking to ensure his name never got mentioned in print for the few months before trial.

BLKNSLVR 8y ago

That's fucking scary. Never heard that story, will be looking into it. Process for any whistleblowers: - Don't go to your boss - Don't go to the authorities - Don't go to anyone who may be remotely suspected of having any involvement or benefit from the activities - Research how to protect your identity online (this is a bit recursive, as researching how to protect your identity online may set off flags if you are suspected as the whistleblower) - Burner phone - Burner laptop - Burner email address(es) - Tor - public wifi (know where the cameras are in the area and make sure you're unrecognisable on them, stake it out in winter when it's more acceptable to have your face covered with a scarf or something) - Contact a respected journalist that's NOT in your local area - Try to make sure the journalist has the facility to allow documents to be transferred by a SecureDrop system or similar Australia's federal political-class appear to be deep in the pockets of mining companies given the extent of the resistance to renewable energy. I'd almost consider it naive to go to a politician about any kind of mining-related corruption in Australia. Edit: Just noticed CPAHem's post saying it was QFTAC that got Fiona Wilson 'committed'. The Q stands for Queensland. To give you an idea of how protective the Queensland political class is of the mining and energy status quo, they're trying to get a NEW Coal Power Plant built in Queensland, and they have enough power behind them that the Federal Government is not flat-out saying no. There are no banks, Australian or otherwise, willing to fund the building of a new coal power plant because it's so far from financial viability that even existing coal power plants are shutting down because they can't compete on power prices.