The federal government has created another secret database where people merely “suspected” of arson will be tagged and flagged, to be hounded throughout summer if as much as a match strikes in their suburb. CLA is concerned that ‘mates’ will put mates’ names down as a prank, neighbours in dispute will add the name of someone they don’t like to the database: the traditional right of “innocent until proven guilty” is being trashed by governments in Australia.
It’s official! Big Brother sees red…and tells a few porkies
By Bill Rowlings, CEO, Civil Liberties Australia
The Australian Government is using a national police database to identify people merely suspected of arson, without conviction.
Those people will probably be subjected to police harassment throughout this summer, on the basis of no conviction for any offence, CLA warns. Governments throughout Australia are usurping the traditional rule of law in Australia, under which people were innocent until proven guilty.
Authorities are putting arson warning flags on personal record information held on the National Police Reference System – Australia’s Big Brother database – managed by CrimTrac, one of the relatively recent secret government crime/spook bodies created in the wake of “9/11”.
“Police services will add flags against persons who have been convicted or charged with arson related offences anywhere in Australia,” according to a joint media release by the biggest brothers in arson suspicion, Attorney-General Robert McClelland and Home Affairs Minister Brendan O’Connor.
“The Capability will capture both new and existing offences – its development involved updating over nine million existing criminal records to include Arson Warning Flags where appropriate. Police (can) search for any person of interest with an Arson Warning Flag by specific location – suburb by suburb.”
Warning: Hyperbole danger – CLA analyses the media release:
Here’s what the Ministers said:
“There are an estimated 54,000 bushfires in Australia each year. Arson…is estimated to cost the Australian community…$1.6 billion per year,” the joint media release said.
“Bushfires…have accounted for more people injured than all other natural disasters combined.”
Analysis:
54,000 bushfires a year means more than 1000 bushfires each week, on average, throughout the year, every week. Hmmm? Highly unlikely! There’s not even likely to be 1000 bushfires across Australia in any one week at peak bushfire season, unless you count every single bush that is on fire individually!
“Arson” costs $1.6bn”, they claim. But most bushfires are NOT deliberately lit, are NOT “arson”, and cause the type of damage that largely can NOT be measured accurately in dollar terms. This is one of those regular, concocted figures – like icing on a cake, or a fascinator on a hairdo – put out by government. Make your own guess, but generally you can halve whatever is claimed, sometimes even quarter it.
“More people injured than all other natural disasters combined”. Why do Ministers need to tell lies? The fact is that not many people get injured in a serious way in bushfires. There are deaths, and some high profile burns cases, but not a great number of injured people, unless you count twisted ankles and sore thumbs.
NOTE: There are, according to this media release, apparently 9 million existing criminal records on Australia’s Big Brother database. That’s about 40% of the Australian population covered. We must be the most criminal country in the world.
And, for another angle on the same story…
McClelland under fire over arson database
James Riley, itWire, Tuesday, 01 November 2011 20:09
A national database of suspected arsonists launched by Attorney-General Robert McClelland was heavy-handed and had been created without the most basic consultation with civil liberties groups, the nation’s peak privacy lobby claims.
Australian Privacy Foundation chair Roger Clarke says the creation the so-called National Arson Notification Capability – a national law enforcement database that enables ‘warning flags’ to be attached to the records of any Australian suspected of arson – and its announcement as an already-operational system was typical of the poor consultation practices at the Attorney-General’s department.
Mr McClelland unveiled the arson database, saying it would enable state, territory and federal law enforcement to add warning flags to records held in its National Police Reference System. The database is managed by the AG department’s secretive CrimTrac agency.
It is not clear how the database will operate, how a citizen would qualify to have warning flags put on their records, who will have access to the database, or how citizens can get access to information held against their names.
ENDS
Original media release:
i love big brother