Submission to the Inquiry into the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Bill 2000 by the House of Representatives Legal and Constitutional Committee

Roger Clarke

Principal, Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd, Canberra

Visiting Fellow, Department of Computer Science, Australian National University

Version of 15 May 2000

© Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd, 2000

This document is at http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/DV/HoRSub2000.html

Introduction

15 May 2000

Ms C. Cornish

The Secretary

Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs

House of Representatives

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

Dear Ms Cornish

Re: Submission to Inquiry into the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Bill 2000

I refer to your call for submissions, and for your extension of the date of submission beyond the originally advertised date of 12 May.

I have been active in privacy research, consultancy and advocacy for close to 30 years, and have published many papers on the topic. I attach an analysis of the key provisions of the Bill, as they were disclosed by the Government on 14 December. A perusal of the Bill itself shows that there has been virtually no change from the Government's original intent, and hence the analysis applies to the Bill itself with minimal change. The document provides references to a substantial set of resources which provide deeper information on many aspects of the public's expectation of the Parliament.

In summary:

• the Bill is emphatically not a privacy protection instrument;
• the Bill is an attempt to legitimise a vast array of privacy-invasive activities of corporations;
• the Bill is extraordinarily complex. The discovery of the intended and accidental loopholes it contains will excite lawyers for many years;
• the Bill must be rejected. The Government needs to submit a genuine privacy Bill that will satisfy both the expectations of the Australian public, and the nation's obligations arising from its 1984 accession to the OECD Guidelines.

Your sincerely

Roger Clarke

Director

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Created: 15 May 2000

Last Amended: 15 May 2000

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