Australia’s democracy is under attack

Advertisement

Last week, we witnessed an all-out attack on democracy from the federal government and the bureaucracy.

We learned that the secretaries’ board, which comprises all federal department heads, is pushing for new rules to stop the sharing of public testimony on social media because it could expose officials to ridicule, hostility, or abuse.

The board’s request appears to be in response to the recent actions of Celia Perkins, Deputy Secretary of Security and Estate at the Department of Defence, who opened a public Senate committee hearing by reading a prepared statement that attempted to prohibit the reposting of Defence evidence on social media and the reproduction of the likeness of Defence officials outside the formal parliamentary context:

The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers

$1 for your first month, then:
Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe
About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
Advertisement