Australian Greens Demand Public Access To Cloak and Dagger Anti-Piracy Meetings 93
Fluffeh writes "Continuing the recent stories on the secret, closed door, FOI blocked talks, the Australian Greens have filed a motion in the Senate requesting that the Government release documents regarding its closed door meetings on Internet piracy which the Attorney-General's Department has blocked from being released under Freedom of Information laws. This morning, Greens Communications Spokesperson Scott Ludlam filed an order in the Senate that the Government disclose details of the most recent meeting. 'The Government refuses to reveal almost any information about the attendees, the substance or the outcomes of the meeting,' he said in a separate statement. 'A Freedom of Information request from a journalist looks like it's been met with maximum resistance.'"
At last... (Score:5, Insightful)
Governments are no longer 'for the people'. (Score:5, Insightful)
Actually, they never were.
if democracy could change things, it would be outlawed.
Re:At last... (Score:5, Insightful)
But that's the point of having political parties! They are out to serve their own agenda, and if enough people feel served by this agenda too, they will elect them. If you don't feel their agenda fits your goals, then don't elect them.
Instead of ranting, maybe some democracy 101?
Re:At last... (Score:5, Insightful)
That is indeed the point of democracy, but it is also a flaw in the idea of political parties. The Romans used to consider that politicians banding together into parties was a very dangerous trend in a democracy, obscuring the merits or flaws of the individual under the combined policies of the party.
It leads to linking concepts that should have nothing to do with one another, such as "If you care about the environment, then obviously you also support the welfare state, it couldn't be otherwise." or "If you believe tax on business should be lowered in sectors X, Y and Z, then obviously you also want massively increased military spending."
In order to serve their own agenda and be able to compete, political parties have to be as large as their opposition, which means they have to absorb sufficient numbers of groups that can support them, all with their own issues and interests.
Re:At last... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:At last... (Score:5, Insightful)
Came here to say this, but not as eloquently. This is why I wish the two party system in the USA could be busted.
- Jasen.