4 ms·

When you see a lot of political or technical decisions of Australia in the tech area, you can only think that leaders there are either really dumb or really cor

When you see a lot of political or technical decisions of Australia in the tech area, you can only think that leaders there are either really dumb or really corrupt!

rexelhoff 5y ago
Both
blunte 5y ago
You could say the same about US and EU.
dkdk8283 5y ago
Australia has substantial chinese influence, authoritarian policies are almost certainly the result of china.
- tankenmate 5y ago
  This is a very broad hand wave; can you pinpoint any examples of Chinese influence creating authoritarian policies in Australia? And in Australian research in particular?
discordance 5y ago
I’m curious what you are referring to here. Do you have any examples I can read up on?
- RicoElectrico 5y ago
  Dave from EEVblog ranted about their gov approach to tech (and environment) a few times in the past.
  - chris_wot 5y ago
    That’s the LNP for you.
- L_226 5y ago
  Here you go [Feb 2021]: https://chaser.com.au/national/an-exhaustive-list-of-the-liberal-partys-corruption-over-the-last-7-years/ https://chaser.com.au/national/an-exhaustive-list-of-the-lib...
  - roenxi 5y ago
    While there are a lot of items on that list that range from obvious corruption to concerning, the list does itself no favours by including a bunch of stupid stuff. The 2nd item is "Voted against a binding code of conduct designed to ensure politicians act with integrity" - that isn't corruption. The list author just doesn't like their decision. Honestly, none of the top 6 dot points really look concerning and it is arguable if they represent corruption. Some are probably politically motivated ... but most things politicians do are politically motivated.
AussieWog93 5y ago
An acquaintance of mine was quite heavily involved with the CSIRO in Clayton. Their observations suggest the latter - a lot of very smart people, but also some serious conflicts of interest when it comes to funding allocation. Apparently this was always an issue, but accelerated in the mid-2010s after their funding was cut by the Abbott government (this is not intended as a partisan statement; for what it's worth the person who told me this was quite politically apathetic).
kimburgess 5y ago
Those options are not mutually exclusive.
toomanybeersies 5y ago
Donald Horn put it best in The Lucky Country: > Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck. It lives on other people's ideas, and, although its ordinary people are adaptable, most of its leaders (in all fields) so lack curiosity about the events that surround them that they are often taken by surprise

When you see a lot of political or technical decisions of Australia in the tech area, you can only think that leaders there are either really dumb or really corrupt!

rexelhoff 5y ago

Both

blunte 5y ago

You could say the same about US and EU.

dkdk8283 5y ago

Australia has substantial chinese influence, authoritarian policies are almost certainly the result of china.

tankenmate 5y ago
This is a very broad hand wave; can you pinpoint any examples of Chinese influence creating authoritarian policies in Australia? And in Australian research in particular?

discordance 5y ago

I’m curious what you are referring to here. Do you have any examples I can read up on?

RicoElectrico 5y ago
Dave from EEVblog ranted about their gov approach to tech (and environment) a few times in the past.
- chris_wot 5y ago
  That’s the LNP for you.
L_226 5y ago
Here you go [Feb 2021]: https://chaser.com.au/national/an-exhaustive-list-of-the-liberal-partys-corruption-over-the-last-7-years/ https://chaser.com.au/national/an-exhaustive-list-of-the-lib...
- roenxi 5y ago
  While there are a lot of items on that list that range from obvious corruption to concerning, the list does itself no favours by including a bunch of stupid stuff. The 2nd item is "Voted against a binding code of conduct designed to ensure politicians act with integrity" - that isn't corruption. The list author just doesn't like their decision. Honestly, none of the top 6 dot points really look concerning and it is arguable if they represent corruption. Some are probably politically motivated ... but most things politicians do are politically motivated.

AussieWog93 5y ago

An acquaintance of mine was quite heavily involved with the CSIRO in Clayton. Their observations suggest the latter - a lot of very smart people, but also some serious conflicts of interest when it comes to funding allocation. Apparently this was always an issue, but accelerated in the mid-2010s after their funding was cut by the Abbott government (this is not intended as a partisan statement; for what it's worth the person who told me this was quite politically apathetic).

kimburgess 5y ago

Those options are not mutually exclusive.

toomanybeersies 5y ago

Donald Horn put it best in The Lucky Country: > Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck. It lives on other people's ideas, and, although its ordinary people are adaptable, most of its leaders (in all fields) so lack curiosity about the events that surround them that they are often taken by surprise