The Greens will vote against the Online Safety Bill because it is poorly drafted and could lead to widespread, unintended consequences. 

"This Bill would make the eSafety Commissioner the sole arbiter of internet content in Australia ," Greens Digital Rights spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

"It creates extraordinary powers for any one person to hold, let alone an unelected bureaucrat."

"It also fails to provide for timely reviews or appeals of decisions made by the eSafety Commissioner."

The Government's NBN announcement is a small step in the right direction, but there are still significant issues that need to be addressed, the Greens say.

"This is an effective admission of guilt by the Liberals- that fibre to the premises should have been done years ago," Greens NBN spokesperson Nick McKim said.

"It is encouraging that many more Australians will have access to faster broadband, but the plan announced today does not cover enough homes and businesses."

"But this plan does not cover the exorbitant cost of broadband in Australia."

The Government’s shameful disregard for privacy continues with the release of its COVID-19 app.

“If the Government wants people to use this app, they need to put protections in law beforehand,” Leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt MP said.

“People have very legitimate concerns about how the data will be used and where it will be stored.”

“The reported storage of the data by a US company raises real concerns. When it comes to privacy, if there’s one person I trust less than Peter Dutton, it’s Donald Trump.”

After dragging its feet for over half a year, the Morrison Government has finally delivered its response to the Final Report of the ACCC Digital Platforms Inquiry.

While its findings were broad-ranging, the recommendations do not go anywhere near far enough to restore funding to the ABC and SBS, protect local content quotas and fund public interest journalism, said Senator for SA and Greens’ Spokesperson for Communications Sarah Hanson-Young.

Senator Mehreen Faruqi has reacted to the revelation that she was a target of an organised far right network of Facebook pages that are profiting from thousands of hateful posts a week that have targeted high profile Muslim women across the world. Senator Faruqi was the first Muslim woman to sit in an Australian parliament.

Senator Faruqi will refer the investigation and attacks on her to the Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media established by the Senate this week.

She said:

Monday, 18 March 2019

Australian Greens Digital RIghts spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John has today announced the Australian Greens commitment to a 21st Century NBN, finished using best-choice technology, to ensure everyone has access to affordable, reliable and high quality internet services into the future.

Senator Steele-John said our internet was slower and less affordable than comparable countries, with Australia ranked 56th in the world for internet speed and 57th in world for affordability.

Tuesday, 18 September

The Coalition joint party room must wait until the Department of Home Affairs finishes reviewing public submissions made to the Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018 before introducing the legislation, according to the Australian Greens.

Australian Greens Digital Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John said it was an affront to transparent, open and accountable government that the Coalition joint party room had this morning approved the bill.

Tuesday, 11 September

Australian Greens Digital Rights Senator Jordon Steele-John said this morning he was thrilled that some of the biggest tech companies in the world – Google, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter – had finally put the privacy of their users ahead of their own profits, by condemning the Government’s Assistance and Access Bill.

The public consultation period for Telecommunications and Other Legislation Amendment (Assistance and Access) Bill 2018 ended Monday, 10 September.

Wednesday, 15 August

The Labor party has once again fallen into line behind the government in their appalling intrusions into the privacy and online security of Australians by voting down a Greens motion today in the Senate.

The motion, moved by Digital Rights spokesperson Senator Jordon Steele-John, called on the government to get a warrant before harvesting our metadata, accessing our medical records and intercepting our communications, whilst maintaining the integrity of end-to-end encryption.