In Pursuit of Commonsense
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Weekend Australian Saturday 2/11/2019 Brief: DPLAUTO2 Vi"-n l!'At ••• Lr, W "IT"'' Page 1 of 4 CJ Page: 1 Section: General News Region: Australia P/\PL~\MENT,\RY Type: National LIBRARY Size: 1,431 .00 sq.ems. I i i S i ....,,_, ,~-• ..... - ... Frequency: S ,.---··-·-"" INSIDE The bone-headed pursuit of Abbott and Cooper ought to be seen as a pursuit ofevery person who wants to engage in a genuinely free and healthy democracy. JANET ALBRECHTSEN PI? IN PURSUIT OF COMMONSENSE Action Conference. I heard Abbott What we have is deliver that address. It was about a vexatious use the need for civility in politics: he asked us to be the best we can be. of the foreign How dreadfully subversive of him. In her letter to Abbott, sent the influence law day before he spoke on Saturday. August 9, Chidgey told Abbott JAN ET that. as a former cabinet minister, ALBRECHTSEN he has "a lifetime obligation to reg ister any activity you undertake on behalf of a foreign principal". The busy bureaucrat sent other letters during that week in August - to others involved with CPAC. After a follow-up email from another bureaucrat with the title of action officer. Abbott wrote back on Wednesday: "I decline to "It's oppressive, it's coercive. register and I suggest that you thought the commissars had gone rethink the making of such mis when the bloody Soviet Union placed and impe1tinent requests in went out ofbusiness. " the future. Surely officials of the Tony Abbott has a knack for get commonwealth have better things ting to the nub of a problem, to do with their time." Abbott especially when he gets riled. This concluded by advising the action week Abbott spoke to The Week officer that "in the interests of end Australian about a most transparency I may make this bizarre pursuit of him by bureau response available to the media". crats in the Attorney-General's Last December, Attorney Department, using new laws General Christian Porter said the intended to weed out nefarious new foreign influence trans parency scheme would safeguard foreign influence undermining our democracy. the nation's democracy. "FITS will Abbott received a letter dated provide visibility of the forms and August 8 from the deputy secret sources of foreign influence in ary of the Integrity and Inter Australia's governmental and national Group of the A-G's political processes." he said. Department, Sarah Chidgey. Sam Dastyari spectacularly Chidgey is part of the team admin imploded his political career by accepting money from a company istering the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act. which owned by Chinese billionaire came into effect last December. Huang Xiangmo to pay legal bills. The former prime minister There has been a rise in Chinese caught her attention because the propaganda emanating from Con fucius Centres at Australian uni media reported that he would speak at the Conservative Political versities. There were allegations that banned donor Huang gave Ref: 1194207795 Weekend Australian Saturday 2/11/2019 Brief: DPLAUTO2 Page: 1 Page 2 of 4 Section: General News Region: Australia PARLIAMENTARY Type: National LIBRARY Size: 1,431.00 sq.ems. mml!EI= - - -1•-•~•_,-,...,,a_ ••~ Frequency: S ··-ii•--·-.--· $100,000 cash in a plastic Aldi bag leader Mark Latham, Brexit Party Party in Hong Kong, not a modern to NSW Labor's then general leader Nigel Farage and US and free Australia," Cooper said. secretary Jamie Clements at a Republican congressman Mark "They demand I provide emails of Meadows. I also spoke at the con ACU's conversations with all dinner in 2015. These, and many ference. CPAC speakers including ... other serious issues. raise legit Founded in 1974 by the ACU, Meadows and Farage. How can I imate questions about wicked for CPAC has a long heritage, with do that? It feels like the Stasi is eign influences in our democracy. Ronald Reagan delivering the holding me in 1950s East Berlin To root out these influences, inaugural address. ACU offered to and I am being threatened with the department has sent more help Cooper, paying for some US jail because I cannot provide than 500 courteous letters to a speakers to travel to Australia. them with information that I do range ofrecipients asking them to In the section 45(2) notice not have." consider whether they need to dated October 21, Chidgey The Weekend Australian register. The department also has demanded that Cooper provide understands that Porter was, to more draconian powers under sec documents to the department, put it mildly, incandescent with tion 45(2) to demand mountains of including, but not limited to, any rage when he learned, after he documents to establish whether a agreement, contract or other person is liable to register under document detailing any under asked for details, that this was the sole instance of the department the act. This notice carries serious standing between LibertyWorks consequences: it is a criminal of and the ACU, any invitations, issuing the draconian sect.ion 45(2) fence not to comply. with a maxi letters or other correspondence notice. And why wouldn't he be mum penalty ofsix months in jail. from LibertyWorks or the ACU livid? Going after Cooper, and not On Wednesday, The Weekend sent to individuals invited to speak a real threat to our democracy, Australian asked the department or attend CPAC, copies, tran makes a mockery ofthese laws and how many section 45(2) notices scripts or video or audio record the department. it has sent, and to whom. No ings of speeches made by the For reasons of probity, the answer. So much for transparency speakers at CPAC, including of Attorney-General has no power in our democracy. speeches by members of Liberty- to direct those departmental The next day, The Weekend bureaucrats who administer the Australian discovered this crack Works or the ACU to introduce r-ITS. But that independence team of eight bureaucrats charged or conclude the conference or a should not be a licence to use wide with exposing devious foreign specific day or event at the confer ranging laws that carry serious influences in our democracy has ence, summaries of topics covered penalties in highly questionable sent a single section 45(2) notice. by speakers at the conference, and circumstances. Not to one of the many Confucius material produced or distributed In response to questions about by LibertyWorks promoting Centres. Not to 1-lizb ut-Tahrir, a this debacle, Porter told The Muslim group that loathes democ CPACortheACU. The deadline is next Tuesday. Weekend Australian that "Whilst racy. The department's sole sec it would not be appropriate for me tion 45(2) notice was sent late last Cooper has invited the depart ment to treat what he told this to comment on individual cases of month to a bloke in Queensland compliance action, 1 have made it called Andrew Cooper, who runs a newspaper on Thursday as his response to their inquisition. "I will clear to my de1)artment that I one-man think tank advancing expect it to demonstrate a focus on freedom. It's called LibertyWorks not be complying with this notice despite the threat of criminal pros the most serious instances of non because freedom works in mys compliance. I'm not persuaded ecution and jail time," he said. "I terious ways in modern Australia. this focus has been pe1fectly If you haven't heard of Cooper, established Liberty Works to argue demonstrated to date." you will after the department's against this type of government Porter said that he expects a crazy pursuit of him. The Queens control over speech and citizens. I "rational triage" from his depart lander co-hosted CPAC in Sydney will not sell out our speakers and ment "that takes into account sev together with the American delegates by kowtowing to gov eral things. First ... where it is most Conservative Union. ernment overlords." clear that someone is acting on "I just wanted to run a confer Cooper fired up LibertyWorks behalf of a foreign principal rather ence," he told this newspaper this in 2016 after the crushing weight than cases where it is alternatively week. The aim was to thrash out of a federal bureaucracy - the arguable that no real arrangement ideas on the centre-right of politics poorly named Australian Human exists. Second ... priority should be among a range of people from con Rights Commission was given to the more serious activities servatives to libertarians from brought to bear against three that may be being undertaken. Australia, Britain and the US. Queensland University of And third, there should be a little Speakers included Abbott, former Technology students for making common sense brought into play." deputy prime minister John innocuous remarks about an Abbott told The Weekend Aus Anderson, senator Amanda Stok indigenous-only computer lab. tralian that he feels for his Liberal er, MP Craig Kelly, former Labor "This is government overreach colleague as an important law goes worthy of the Chinese Communist Ref: 1194207795 Weekend Australian Brief: DPLAUTO2 ~• r.. ,.,&.t1.-t.t,,..,,. Saturday 2/11/2019 C3 Page: 1 Page 3 of 4 Section: General News Region: Australia Pl1PL!,\ME'.JT/1RY Type: National LIBRARY Size: 1,431.00 sq.ems. mmm .....,.............. , ..... Frequency: S ~--·-·~--u.o_,~ ...,. off the rails at the hands of over The Weekend Australian. ment" and the intended scope zealous bureaucrats. 'Tm not Asked why he responded so of the nexus between a foreign being critical of ministers here forcefully to overzealous bureau principal and the person acting on because J know how easy it is for crats busying themselves with his their behalf are too vague, and the bureaucracy to turn well speaking diary, the former prime hence potentially far-reaching.