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Facing up to the law: increasing surveillance raises privacy concerns
I spy the use of facial recognition systems by law enforcement agencies is becoming more widespread. Illustration: Sam Bennett
ABOUT 15,000 people have had images of their faces captured on an Australian Federal Police database in its first year of operation, igniting fears that the rise of facial recognition systems will lead to CCTV cameras being installed on every street corner.
The database includes pictures of alleged criminals who may not know their images are on file.
The AFP say facial recognition may eventually be considered as credible as fingerprints, but images on their database are not being shared with state police forces. Sharing images on a national database could be possible by 2015.
The president of Australian Councils for Civil Liberties, Terry O’Gorman, said it was troubling that technologies such as facial and number plate recognition had become so widespread and there appeared to be no independent monitoring of the impacts on privacy.
The justification for widespread CCTV has also been questioned, with a report by police in London, the most spied-upon city in the world, showing that only one crime was solved per 1000 cameras.
An AFP forensic and data centres biometrics co-ordinator, Simon Walsh, said international agencies were Read more…
Australian summer lurches from fire to floods
Roger Barnes rescues a friend’s surfboard from a flooded home in the Brisbane suburb of Newmarket on Monday.Australia is so hot they had to add new colors to the weather map
As scorching temperatures persist across Australia, the country’s Bureau of Meteorology added a new color to its weather forecasting map, extending the range to 54ºC, or 129ºF, from the previous cap of 50ºC, or 122ºF.
The new, deeper purple “dome of heat” swirls above South Australia, indicating temperatures above 50ºC in some areas.
Bureau of Meteorology
The previous all-time temperature record was 50.7ºC, reached in South Australia in 1960.
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology says this is the first time Australia has ever recorded five consecutive days of temperatures above 39ºC (102ºF). Nationwide average temperatures on each of the first six days of 2013 were among the top 20 hottest days on record.
This is also the year with the most record days in Australia since 1910, when national records began
Thousands of Lowood catfish die
The department of heritage and environment are investigating the death of hundreds of fish in the Brisbane River at Lowood.
DEAD and bloated catfish are washing up on the banks of the Brisbane River in their thousands, leaving scientists searching for an explanation.
SeqWater officers were seen scouring the banks of the river just outside the centre of Lowood yesterday, where scaly bodies were scattered along rocky sections of the bank or bobbing belly-up in the steady current.
It is believed hundreds of fish were found dead last week and more were counted yesterday – totalling in the thousands.
The dead fish were found as far upstream as the Lockyer Creek.
Only catfish seem to have been affected, leading to speculation that a virus may be sweeping through fish populations in the river.
Department of Environment and Heritage Protection executive director Andrew Connor said there would be no explanation for the fish Read more…
China Lashes Talk of Asian Missile Shield
A senior Chinese Foreign Ministry official on Wednesday lashed potential U.S. plans to collaborate with partner nations in developing a ballistic missile shield covering Asia, China Daily reported (see GSN, March 27).
U.S. Assistant Defense Secretary Madelyn Creedon in March said the Obama administration was discussing cooperative missile defense with Australia, Japan and South Korea, according to earlier reporting. Any antimissile system for the region would be based on the developing U.S. “phased adaptive approach” program to deploy land- and sea-based missile interceptors around Europe, Creedon told lawmakers.
“The Chinese government always insists that (countries) should start by maintaining global strategic stability and promoting strategic mutual trust between major powers to handle the issue of missile defense prudently,” according to Luo Zhaohui, Asian affairs chief for the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
“Building a missile defense system in the Asia-Pacific region will have negative effects on global and regional strategic stability, and go against the Read more…
Australian state of Queensland stages its biggest ever evacuation as floodwaters rise
An aeriel view of the swollen Balonne River in Queensland is seen just before water levels peaked at 12.75 metres (42 feet) on Jan. 4, 2011. The river is now threatening to reach new highs, devastating the township of St George. AFP/Getty Images
MELBOURNE (Australia) – Thousands of people have been evacuated from the parts of the eastern Australian state of Queensland, where river heights are threatening to reach record levels, local media report.
Over 2,000 people were forcibly evacuated from the inland township of St George on Saturday night, in what the Australian Broadcasting Corporation says was the largest evacuation in the state’s history.
The Australian newspaper says the nearby Balonne River has already passed the all-time high of 13.4 metres (44 feet) recorded during the devastating floods of 2010, and it is expected to continue rising to over 14 metres (46 feet).
The newspaper says that some 300 to 400 residents had stayed to protect their properties, ignoring warnings that rescue services might not be able to reach them later. Some had built a temporary levee in an attempt to hold back some of the water, but the state Premier Anna Bligh said their efforts had “no prospect” of succeeding. Twenty houses were destroyed over the weekend and a final evacuation was scheduled for Monday morning, local time.
“This is the third flood this town has coped with in just less than two years, so there’s a lot of distress and a lot of emotion,” Bligh added, confirming that she would visit the flood-affected areas on Monday.
Later on Monday morning, some media began reporting that Read more…
No opt-out rule for airport body scanners
Generic outline: a screen displays an image of a man walking through the scanner.Civil libertarians are worried by proposed legislation meaning passengers will not be able to opt out of undergoing full body scans at Australian airports.
The Federal Government will introduce legislation this week so the technology can be rolled out in all of Australia’s international airports.
The move follows a trial in Sydney and Melbourne.
Except for travellers with serious medical conditions, all passengers will have to go through the scanners if asked by airport staff.
Civil Liberties Australia director Tim Vines says the scanners will amount to an unnecessary digital strip search of citizens who want to travel.
He says passengers should be allowed to request a pat-down.
“In the European Union, where they do allow these types of scanners, they have issued a directive that says governments must Read more…
Floods create ‘inland sea’ in Australia
The deluge, which has sparked dozens of rescues and left about 7,275 people isolated in various parts of New South Wales state has also impacted Queensland to the north where homes have reportedly been inundated.
“From the air it looks like an inland sea,” New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell said after visiting the region.
Evacuations have been ordered from some houses and businesses in the New South Wales town of Moree, where more than 600 people have registered with an evacuation shelter as the Mehi River peaked, the State Emergency Service said.
“The town of Moree is inundated with water — so north Moree is not only cut off, but Read more…
Swan River Trust searches for cause of fish deaths
MYSTERY:Swan River Trust is investigating the deaths of thousands of fish in the upper reaches of the river. Picture: Richard Hatherly Source: PerthNow
AUTHORITIES are investigating the deaths of thousands of fish in the Swan River.
River users reported finding about 5000 dead fish in the upper reaches of the river during the weekend.
Swan River Trust river systems manager Mark Cugley said officers were investigating the extent of the kill and what had caused it.
“The Trust was notified by the public on the weekend that a number of fish were seen floating in the water between Middle Swan bridge and the Ellen Brook confluence,” Mr Cugley said.
“Most of the fish appear to be juvenile black bream with the remainder being trumpeter.”
Mr Cugley said monitoring results had shown there were Read more…
Fourth person hit by lightning
Ross Cox © Enlarge photo
Update, 4.45pm: A fourth person has been struck by lightning, after a severe thunderstorm swept over the city this morning.
The storm ripped through the south metro area this morning, causing havoc with the power supply, bringing down branches and causing minor flooding.
A warning was issued for the Perth metro area as the storm shifted north.
People in areas bound by Lancelin, Northam and Narrogin were told to prepare for damaging winds, heavy rainfall and possible hail.
Multiple thunderstorms are expected to hit Perth this afternoon following intense lightning early this morning.
There were just over 8300 lightning strikes between 12am to 2:30pm within a 600km radius of Perth yesterday, according to local weather-watcher Tom Marsh, who uploads minute-to minute updates at www.tkup.net from his Floreat weather station.
The peak rate was 95 strikes a minute at 7.14am, including strikes between clouds as well as from clouds to ground, he said.
Weather bureau forecaster Nadine Baillard said while the storms were easing off for now, higher temperatures would see them build up again this afternoon.
One person was hit by lightning at 4am on Wyeree Road in Mandurah and was taken to Peel Health Campus and a second person was struck at 4:30am on Brennan Promenade in Baldivis. He was taken to Rockingham Hospital.
A third person was taken to hospital by ambulance after he was struck at about 9am.
The 42-year-old man was working at Hertz in Welshpool when the whole office reported hearing a massive crack from Read more…
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