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Dual Standard Over Freedom of Speech (Read 8058 times)
deepthought
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Re: Dual Standard Over Freedom of Speech
Reply #15 - Oct 21st, 2007 at 6:21pm
 
I agree to agree with much of what you say freediver except the 'agreeing to disagree' concept being difficult to understand.  In interchanges people inevitably make up their mind or have already done so and no amount of circling each other will change that.   In that event it's OK to agree to disagree, to respect their right to have a different viewpoint and agree to leave it at that.

That's OK surely?
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freediver
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Re: Dual Standard Over Freedom of Speech
Reply #16 - Oct 21st, 2007 at 6:29pm
 
If they can get to the bottom of it. Often they don't. Often there is a misunderstanding of a technical matter, or a failure to acknowledge different values. They pull away because emotion is preventing them from following a topic to it's conclusion.
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deepthought
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Re: Dual Standard Over Freedom of Speech
Reply #17 - Oct 21st, 2007 at 10:31pm
 
freediver wrote on Oct 21st, 2007 at 6:29pm:
If they can get to the bottom of it. Often they don't. Often there is a misunderstanding of a technical matter, or a failure to acknowledge different values. They pull away because emotion is preventing them from following a topic to it's conclusion.



Agreed, but the refuge for most people on the net seems to be abuse.  Agreeing to disagree seems to me to be a better outcome.  I have never understood the need to be insulting yet many have that need, perhaps because of other stuff in their lives - I don't know.  

Far better to see the possibility of it turning bad and getting out intact.

I will certainly continue to discuss an issue with a willing participant and I am immune to abuse as it says more about the abuser than the abused, but it's pretty boring to read for others so if the opponent has a dummy spit it's better to extract yourself from the path of the spittle.
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Re: Dual Standard Over Freedom of Speech
Reply #18 - Oct 21st, 2007 at 10:50pm
 
deepthought - adults can agree to disagree.

i don't answer abuse. that only seems to encourage and support it


"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.
For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."

Luke 6:45
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Free speech being whittled away: report
Reply #19 - Nov 5th, 2007 at 4:55pm
 
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Free-speech-being-whittled-away-report/2007/11/05/1194117927878.html

Free speech in Australia is being whittled away by legal restrictions and a secretive culture among public officials, according to a new report on press freedom.

Author of the report, former NSW ombudsman Irene Moss, says there are grounds for concern about the state of free speech in Australia.

Her audit, commissioned by a coalition of major media groups, says there are 500 pieces of legislation and at least 1,000 court suppression orders still in force that restrict media reporting in Australia.

"The audit would broadly conclude that free speech and media freedom are being whittled away by gradual and sometimes almost imperceptible degrees," she said.

Ms Moss, also a former chair of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), said:"What the audit can observe is that many of the mechanisms that are vital to a well-functioning democracy are beginning to wear thin.

"Many important institutions - government, business, churches, military, courts, health services, schools and universities - employ procedures which are more about reducing media risk than about fulfilling obligations of accountability."

Ms Moss said freedom of information laws did not always help, and sometimes even hindered, the flow of information.

Ms Moss also criticised the "non-existent or flawed" institutional support for whistleblowers exposing corruption and maladministration.

Shield laws protecting journalists were also inadequate, she said.

"The Moss report shows that the slide into censorship and secrecy is evident at all levels of government and among political parties," he said.

Two weeks ago Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd released the ALP's FoI policy, which pledged to improve journalistic privilege, whistleblower protection and privacy laws.

"I cannot think of a better moment for some me-too policies from the coalition," Mr Kirk said.
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Anna Bligh plans FOI law reform
Reply #20 - Jun 12th, 2008 at 1:30pm
 
Rudd pushes for stronger FOI laws
http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1173068900/378#378

Anna Bligh plans to shred veil of secrecy through FOI law reform
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,24897,23844881-601,00.html

A HISTORIC attempt to overcome government secrecy by opening confidential files and strengthening the long-eroded Freedom of Information Act has been launched in Queensland and could be the precursor for reforms across the nation.

Having succeeded Peter Beattie last year with a promise of greater transparency, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh yesterday gave broad support for the 141 recommendations from an FOI review conducted by former barrister and journalist David Solomon. Dr Solomon is also on the advisory committee for a federal review of FOI laws, ordered by Kevin Rudd and being conducted by the Australian Law Reform Commission, and will argue for his reform model to be introduced nationally.

His report, The Right to Information, comes a year after media organisations - including News Limited, publisher of The Australian - joined forces to run the Australia's Right to Know campaign to protest against government secrecy.

Not content to wait for the outcome of the federal review, Ms Bligh wants state cabinet to respond to the Solomon report within eight weeks, allowing for public consultation at the end of the year and legislation to be debated in parliament early next year.

She had repeatedly conceded that the broad cabinet exemptions, heavily criticised by Dr Solomon for allowing documents to be withheld from release under FOI, had been misused and should be overhauled.

But Dr Solomon has gone much further, recommending broad-ranging reforms that would effectively make FOI - to be renamed Right To Information - less relevant.

Not only would all cabinet documents be released after 10 years, instead of 30 years as is currently the case in Queensland, but after every cabinet meeting, the premier would have to decide what not to make public and release an edited cabinet agenda along with any non-confidential documents.

RTI applications - which would be expedited by government, and be less costly to applicants - would face fewer obstacles and be bolstered by a prevailing public interest test.

Personal information could also be accessed outside RTI under a process administered by a state privacy commissioner.

Dr Solomon wants the culture of government to change from allowing the release of information only after the "pull" of the media or others, to actually "push" information into the public arena.

He has recommended new information technology systems be used to record, track and release documents throughout government, and favours a similar culture of transparency in third-party organisations that receive taxpayer funds, such as parliament, courts, government-owned corporations and private schools.
While Ms Bligh vowed to consult widely with third parties who might be affected by such reforms, she said "by and large the other recommendations, in my view, have merit and the Government will ultimately pick them up".

Ms Bligh said she was "comfortable" with the recommended changes to cabinet exemptions, which in theory would allow the release of more documents, and with the broad direction taken by Dr Solomon.

"What has been delivered to government is a plan that, I think, finds the right balance between the legitimate privacy of our citizens, the public interest, and effective government," Ms Bligh told reporters.

While Ms Bligh declared it possible the new model could be introduced before the next election, due late next year, it remains to be seen whether the release of cabinet documents would advantage the Opposition.

Dr Solomon said he expected the move from a 30-year cabinet rule to a 10-year rule would be made progressively, releasing several years of historic documents at a time until the system was up to date.

While Queensland Labor celebrates 10 years in power this week, the cabinet documents of the former Coalition government would be released first.

Ms Bligh, who has sought to differentiate herself from Mr Beattie, could also benefit from the release of documents pertaining to Labor's early years in government.
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