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</head><body><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">I have no bones to pick with any organisation mentioned in this comment. They just happen to be the ones that I am most familiar with. And yes for every issue I raise here, I believe somebody can find a counter argument.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">Over the last few months I’ve been giving some serious thought to both treaties and legislation being agreed upon by the Federal government. I have been looking at how the legislation has come about, who produces the information used in making the decisions and who benefits from the legislation.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">There are a few points that have arisen from this investigation that have given me some concern.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">So why does the government think they can just legislate anything that it feels like, after all we have a constitution that supposedly balances the administrative power of the states with the federal government. There has been a push over the last 80 to 90 years for the Federal Government through High Court decisions to extend it’s administrative powers into any area it seems to feel like. For example the use of External Affairs and possible future treaties to bring the Franklin dam to a halt even though the federal government through the constitution should have no direct administrative powers to directly control what an industry can do. There are multiple cases that show the Federal government indirectly controlling the actions of what was seen as state administrative power. ( Yes this is my opinion and if anybody wants further information read the disclaimer at the bottom.)</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">Over the years the High Court of Australia has taken a more literal approach to the constitution with Federal Government gaining ascendancy over the State Governments. The Australian Constitution was an agreement between the States that existed at the time, and the soon to be Federal Government over administrative power and responsibilities in specific areas. It could be argued that the Federal Government has breeched this agreement.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><strong>I think the legislation will be passed but this then opens up High Court challenges to the legislation. This is where I think we should be concentrating our efforts.</strong><span style="font-weight: normal;"> It could be argued:</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; font-weight: normal; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><ul><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">that the legislation is an overreach by the Federal government as the impact of the legislation fair outweighs the possible benefits of the legislation.</p></li><li><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">The legislation directly controls the activities of a business.</p></li></ul><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">These are two thoughts just off the top of my head. ( if anybody wants the legal stuff behind these arguments let me know and I’ll do a follow up post)</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">However the problem we need to overcome is community fragmentation and community ennui.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">We are now in danger of the Linux kernel being fragmented much like the BSD’s. Microsoft is buying Suse, IBM is buying Redhat Some kernel maintainers are moving to the BSD’s. There is talk of splitting/forking the kernel to cater to the opposing factions in the Linux kernel community itself.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">The possibility of the Linux Kernel/community being split is very likely in my opinion.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">In the medium term, I believe that there will be at least three active kernels. In the short term they will still be essentially the same until, one of the three want to move in a different direction to the other two. The split will then become more noticeable ( systemd vs initd). Remebr IBM and Microsoft are businesses and their responsibility is to their shareholders not the communities.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">This will lead to both stagnation, as views opposing community held views will not be tolerated. As Kathy has already mentioned volunteer in a lot of communities is down. I also see that community controllers have a tendency, in some cases, to not listen to their members, but to go off in a direction that they, the community controllers, want. This has the tendency for people who would otherwise be willing to do the work, to just give up. There is also the counter issue which is seen in the change of a communities ethos. People who do not agree with the new ethos leave. Once a clique gains control of an community it is near impossible to change it’s direction but it is very easy to shed volunteers.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">I seriously don’t know how to fix this issue or even if it is possible to fix.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">Yes I agree with Hugh, contact your local representatives but just as importantly, as we have a federal election sometime soon, find out who is contesting your local seats and get in touch with them as well. This though is probably a longer term strategy then just contacting your current local representatives. Also when you do contact them, make a point to infer that how you vote next, in these up and coming elections. depends on how you, as my local representative, vote when considering the legislation.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">Disclaimers:</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">My comments in this discussion are my own personal views. I acknowledge that these views are not held by everyone nor do I expected them to. I have seen a lot of shady stuff from the early Microsoft / Open Source disinformation campaigns to Apples claims over IP communications and GUI’s, (any body still remember Xerox), to China’s indifference to IP laws and licensing and even our own governments disinformation regarding the TPP.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">As such I am currently writing a research paper with the working title of “Government Overreach Through (Technical) Ignorance” which is carrying out a fairly detailed analysis of how legislation that affects technology is enabled, and by whom. If you have information that might help send me details. Yep this is a plug!</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;"><br></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%;">Mark</p><blockquote type="cite"><p>On 06 December 2018 at 16:19 Hugh Blemings via linux-aus <linux-aus@lists.linux.org.au> wrote:<br><br><br>Hiya,<br><br>A timely conversation, one I'm sorry that we find ourselves even having <br>to have at all :( Thank you AJ and Kathy for your considered analysis - <br>fine stuff indeed.<br><br>One thing I would urge all of you to consider doing is call your local <br>MP. Seriously. Respectfully ask that your views (presumably against) <br>be noted and give one or two reasons why - EFFA have written concisely <br>on this aspect[0].<br><br>I say this from the standpoint of having talked to my local MP and the <br>call being respectfully received, noted and being, I gather one of many.<br><br>Further having had an old high school friend that was once an advisor to <br>a senior minister, his feedback was always that in the main, politicians <br>actually do want to hear what their electorate says - but that most of <br>the time they get one visit/call from their electorate for dozens of <br>lobbyists.<br><br>So -please- let us by all means continue the timely and worthwhile <br>discourse on linux-aus on what we might be able to do if we have the <br>misfortune of it passing, but in the meantime please make the call!<br><br>While you are on the phone, please also consider voicing your views on <br>the myriad of other silliness we find ourselves presented with including <br>the all to many far more directly humanitarian matters - some examples <br>[1][2].<br><br>Cheers,<br>Hugh<br><br><br><br>[0] https://digitalrights.good.do/aabill_say_no_efa/phone/<br>[1] <br>https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/refugees/let-s-push-mps-to-back-the-bill/push-mps-to-vote-with-their-conscience<br>[2] <br>https://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/women-s-rights/don-t-waste-100-million/100-million-for-family-violence-great-but--2<br><br>_______________________________________________<br>linux-aus mailing list<br>linux-aus@lists.linux.org.au<br>http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus<br><br>To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to<br>linux-aus-unsubscribe@lists.linux.org.au</p></blockquote></body></html>