Method

Australian Government Solicitor FOI and Privacy Law Conference 2023

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 2, 2024

1 November 2023

Key Points: 


1 November 2023
Read the keynote address prepared for delivery by Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk for the Australian Government Solicitor FOI and Privacy Law Conference on 31 October 2023.
Prepared speech – check against delivery

Acknowledgement of Country

  • I acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region.
  • I also acknowledge and welcome other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people attending today.

Fundamental human rights

  • Both are fundamental human rights.
  • Privacy is recognised in Article 12 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and in many other regional and international agreements.
  • So, access to information is also a fundamental principle that enables us to exercise other rights.
  • Both rights are also challenged by the digital environment, and today I will share how we can stand up to this challenge.

Privacy’s wake-up moment

  • First, I would like to turn to privacy, as it has been a wake-up year for the protection of personal information.
  • The data breaches turned attention to the mass amounts of data that organisations can collect and store, and the risks this creates.
  • We see the increased community’s awareness and experience of privacy issues reflected in the matters to my office.

Community attitudes

  • And we know the community cares about their privacy as they told us in our Australian Community Attitudes to Privacy Survey (ACAPS).
  • ACAPS is a survey we conduct every three years to gain a comprehensive view of Australians’ privacy attitudes and experiences and how recent events have impacted them.
  • - Nine in 10 Australians told us they have a clear understanding of why they should protect their personal information.
  • - 62% see the protection of their personal information as a major concern in their life.

AI

  • The increasing adoption of AI – including generative AI – could have broad-ranging benefits and risks for Australia’s economy and society.
  • The Australian Government identified AI as a critical technology in the national interest and has several initiatives underway to promote trusted, secure and responsible AI.

Privacy law reform

  • Last month, the Australian Government responded to the Attorney-General’s Department’s proposals for reform to the Privacy Act.
  • Other important developments include enabling individuals to exercise new privacy rights, including an enhanced right to access their personal information and a right of erasure, and take direct action in the courts if their privacy is breached.
  • There are also changes proposed to ensure privacy policies and collection notices are clear and easy to understand, including the development of standardised templates.
  • And the government has agreed in principle that organisations should be required to establish maximum and minimum retention periods for personal information, and specify these in their privacy policies.
  • This will increase the OAIC’s ability to take regulatory action on behalf of the Australian people in a flexible and proportionate way, and to address systemic privacy issues.

Evolution, not a revolution

  • It is a time of change, but I want to emphasise that what has been proposed is an evolution, not a revolution.
  • Because these obligations have existed for government agencies since 2018, we expect most are already at best practice status.

Privacy: how to, not don’t do

  • But one of the key messages that I hope you will leave with today is that privacy shouldn’t be viewed as a compliance exercise.
  • Protecting privacy is about treating an individual’s personal information with respect and care, and remembering you are only its custodian.

Access to information

  • Timely access to information promotes public scrutiny of government policy, participation in democratic processes, and allows individuals and governments to make informed decisions.
  • The FOI Act also seeks to facilitate:
    - providing access to information in effective and efficient ways
    - that government-held information is used for the public’s benefit, as it can inform evidence-based policy making and support innovation.

From compliance to proactive release

  • We advocate for administrative access schemes that provide individuals with fast access to their personal information, without having to make a formal FOI request.
  • A quarter (25%) of FOI requests were granted in full, 52% were granted in part, and 23% were refused.
  • Australians had the most success accessing their personal information and policy and procedural documents held by Australian Government agencies.

Open by design

  • It requires agencies and ministers’ offices to be open by design, or move more to a ‘push’ model where information is proactively provided.
  • The OAIC and our state and territory counterparts established the open by design principles in 2021 to encourage the proactive release of information and promote open government.
  • - Implement a best practice open by design approach to proactive disclosure.
  • I would also encourage those involved in the IPS review to use it as an opportunity to look more closely at proactive release in your agency and how it could be improved to foster an open by design culture.

Digital inclusion

  • But in our increasingly digital world, it is imperative that we make government information easily accessible – by all Australians.
  • And in thinking about making information available, and accessible, we must also consider what barriers people may face to digital access and inclusion, and factor these into the work we do at all times.
  • In this digital age, we must ensure that access to government information is not only upheld, but continually improved.
  • The premise of digital inclusion is that everyone should be able to make full use of digital technologies and the benefits they bring, while avoiding their potential negative consequences.

Conclusion

ESMA presents methodology for climate risk stress testing and analysis of the financial impact of greenwashing controversies

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 2, 2024

ESMA presents methodology for climate risk stress testing and analysis of the financial impact of greenwashing controversies

Key Points: 
  • ESMA presents methodology for climate risk stress testing and analysis of the financial impact of greenwashing controversies
    The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, today published two articles, one outlining an approach to modelling the impact of asset price shocks from adverse scenarios involving climate-related risks, the other exploring the use of ESG controversies for the purpose of monitoring greenwashing risk.
  • The analysis focuses on the overall direction of these effects, finding that investor outflows can worsen falls in fund values following an initial shock.
  • Dynamic modelling of climate-related shocks in the fund sector is part of ESMA’s work in relation to its mandates in the area of climate stress testing.
  • Risk article: Financial impact of greenwashing controversies
    The article highlights how data on ESG controversies can be useful to monitor potential reputational risks around greenwashing.

What is dropshipping? 6 things to consider before you start dropshipping as a side hustle

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 2, 2024

The phone case arrives safely at your house, the online retailer makes a small profit and everyone is happy.

Key Points: 
  • The phone case arrives safely at your house, the online retailer makes a small profit and everyone is happy.
  • But the phone case didn’t come from the retailer’s premises.
  • The only thing the online retailer did was take your order and organise for the factory to deliver the case to your home.
  • Dropshipping may sound like an appealing side hustle to help offset the cost-of-living crunch but there are downsides, too.

There are pros and cons


Dropshipping has doubled since 2020, and is expected to double again by 2027. Websites with e-commerce features are also increasingly affordable, and since the barrier to entry for starting a dropshipping business is low, it has become a popular method for making extra money. Dropshipping eliminates “inventory costs”, which includes things like:
buying the products upfront
paying warehouse rent, and
paying staff to package and ship.

  • Low startup costs also make dropshipping more accessible to a wider range of people than traditional businesses.
  • So dropshipping has clear advantages over traditional methods of selling online – but it’s not all rosy.
  • The main problem with dropshipping is loss of control over the delivery and fulfilment process.

1. Supplier reputation matters


Dropshipping isn’t new – brands in the late 1990s were doing it. But with this maturity has arisen opportunities for fraud. Counterfeits, knock-offs, and general quality issues are worryingly commonplace in the dropshipping world. Choose a reputable supplier with clear systems and processes to control product quality and eliminate copyright infringement.

2. Choose a local supplier


To remain competitive, delivery speed is key. If your target audience is in Australia, shipping from foreign soils won’t cut it – the delivery times are too long. Consumers are willing to wait to receive their products on some occasions, but most of the time consumers want it now. Choose a local, reputable supplier to minimise delivery times.

3. Don’t assume quality

  • The quality of products from dropshipping suppliers varies considerably, and what looks great on screen might look very different in hand.
  • Selling poor quality products means more customer service requests, and ultimately consumers start to associate your brand with poor quality.

4. Develop a relationship with your supplier


The best way to resolve potential delivery issues associated with dropshipping is to build a strong relationship with the supplier. Many suppliers do not offer support services when things go wrong. These suppliers should be treated with caution. Developing a strong, collaborative relationship with a willing supplier makes service failures easier to deal with.

5. Stand out from the crowd


Doing business online is not easy – all your competitors are just a click or a tap away. Dropshipping is common, and many other websites are selling the same things as you, potentially from the same supplier. Standing out from the crowd is key. Differentiate yourself from other dropshippers by servicing niche markets and offering superior after-sales support.

6. The customer sets demand

  • Don’t add more and more products to your catalogue until you’re offering everything under the sun; this sets you up for failure because you end up offering everything to no-one.
  • Find an easily reachable and sizeable audience and stick to what they want, not what you think they want.


In 2019 Brent Coker developed the Wear Cape app - a high engagement content production and seeding app designed for agencies specialising in influencer marketing strategies.

The zaï technique: how farmers in the Sahel grow crops with little to no water

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, December 30, 2023

And what is true for the universe is even truer in the Sahel, the name given to the vast, arid belt that skirts the Sahara and stretches across Africa from east to west.

Key Points: 
  • And what is true for the universe is even truer in the Sahel, the name given to the vast, arid belt that skirts the Sahara and stretches across Africa from east to west.
  • Overlooked for many years, the secrets of the Sahelian landscape are starting to pique the interest of researchers and decision-makers.

The art of catching rain

  • They are now a desolate crust where torrential rains are simply swept away as run-off before they have a chance to seep through.
  • In a barren field in the village of Gourga, Yacouba and his family are hard at work perforating the crusted soil in preparation for the first rain.
  • Each wielding a daba (which is a traditional tool similar to an adze), they dig down into the red laterite earth.
  • Into each one, they drop a handful of compost, a few grains of sorghum and a dusting of light soil.
  • But this expertise, known as zaï, has been honed by the peoples of the Yatenga for centuries.
  • By virtue of this revolutionary farming technique, they have mastered the art of catching rain.
  • And so it was that Yacouba, nicknamed “the man who stopped the desert,” restored hope to his whole village.

Ingenious, but costly

  • Well, while it may seem simple, zaï is actually based on a number of complex ecological mechanisms.
  • The technique involves concentrating water and manure at one spot, thereby favouring crop growth in a context of scarce, unpredictable rainfall.
  • Then, when the rain comes, the enriched pocket fills with water and releases nutrients that attract termites of the genus Trinervitermes.
  • With the promise both of bountiful harvests and of benefits for the ecosystem, zaï is a genuine one-stop solution.
  • When digging with a daba for four hours each day, it takes one farmer three months to sow a single hectare.
  • Not only that, three tons of manure must be accumulated or purchased in order to enrich each pocket.

The widespread, manifold forms of zaï

  • In the 1980s, there were concerted efforts from development aid to tackle desertification in Sahelian regions weakened by heavy drought.
  • What followed was a whole spectrum of projects and programmes to test, promote and improve zaï in sub-Saharan Africa.
  • The aim here is to improve sorghum yields while surmounting the major barrier of costly organic matter.
  • Agronomists are also working on ways to combine cereals inside one seed pocket, for example planting sorghum with legumes such as cowpea.
  • Lastly, they are testing out zaï on new crops, from maize to cotton, watermelons and horticultural species like aubergines.

An “alternative” way of adapting

  • From dams to mega-basins to irrigated perimeters, the over-riding policy across the board is to expand watered surfaces by any means necessary.
  • But although this option fulfils a certain short-term need, it carries with it a serious risk of maladaptation.
  • Indeed, the hidden trade-off of these large-scale farm water projects is depleting water resources, social injustice and geopolitical tensions.


The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

How to get the most out of a visit to an art gallery with kids

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, December 30, 2023

What parenting miracle did we pull off to have a daughter that loves art galleries so much?

Key Points: 
  • What parenting miracle did we pull off to have a daughter that loves art galleries so much?
  • But you don’t need to be an artist to help your kids enjoy a gallery visit.
  • Read more:
    Four tips to make the most of your next gallery visit

Start young


Children are naturally curious, so start young and make gallery visits a normal activity. Expose babies to art as soon as possible: research proves regular engagement with art develops children’s aesthetic sensibilities and even very young children can respond to art in complex ways.
I remember my baby son neighing like a horse in front of a painting before he could talk. I looked at the painting he was staring at, Nicholas Harding’s Bob’s daily swim. There in the thick, painterly background, was a horse. My son connected with the work because he loved horses.

Before your visit

  • Look for ways to introduce your child to artists before your visit.
  • Art activities bring exhibits to life in fun and engaging ways.
  • If they like superheroes, pop icons or Hollywood stars they might just love to see a show by Yankunytjatjara artist Kaylene Whiskey.
  • Let your child take the lead and include them in the planning.
  • Planning a trip together may be the perfect time to ask questions and share knowledge: “did you know we can’t touch artwork in galleries?

There’s no right or wrong response


Some adults may feel uncomfortable talking about art. Just try having a conversation about what you see, and be prepared to be amazed by what your child observes. Start by asking your child questions: what are you noticing about this exhibition? What stories are these works telling? What do you think about when you look at this artwork?

  • This stimulates curiosity and encourages students to make careful observations and thoughtful interpretations.
  • Some galleries use Visual Thinking Strategies, which also consists of three questions: what’s going on in this picture?
  • This can even be a great stimulus for discussions with your child: does art have to be beautiful to be good?

Interact with the art

  • Try taking a sketchbook for you and one for your child.
  • You are not aiming to make a masterpiece but to use drawing to map out what you see.
  • They use simple and effective methods such as rolling a piece of paper up into a telescope to look at a work.


Some galleries also have children’s trails especially designed for engaging children. And if they don’t, you can make things up like how many trees can you see? Or can you find any animals in this exhibition?

After the visit

  • In a previous article I talked about extending your child’s experience after a gallery visit and how a comic my son made gave me an insight into his feeling about what he had seen at the gallery.
  • At the end of the day you want your child to enjoy the experience and foster a love of art.


Naomi Zouwer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Assessing data protection practices of UK tracing agents

Retrieved on: 
Friday, December 29, 2023

Earlier this year a women’s charity raised concerns with us about the alleged actions of a tracing agent – an investigator using various methods to find a person’s current address details.

Key Points: 


Earlier this year a women’s charity raised concerns with us about the alleged actions of a tracing agent – an investigator using various methods to find a person’s current address details.

What to consider when using online forms to receive information requests

Retrieved on: 
Friday, December 29, 2023

Are you using online forms to receive information requests?

Key Points: 
  • Are you using online forms to receive information requests?
  • Some organisations have begun using online forms to help guide requesters.
  • However, there are some key things that you need to consider if you are thinking about using an online form.
  • There are things to consider, but that doesn’t mean that online forms can’t be a helpful tool in your approach to FOI.

How do bacteria actually become resistant to antibiotics?

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, November 8, 2023

“What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger”, originally coined by Friedrich Nietzsche in 1888, is a perfect description of how bacteria develop antibiotic resistance.

Key Points: 
  • “What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger”, originally coined by Friedrich Nietzsche in 1888, is a perfect description of how bacteria develop antibiotic resistance.
  • Contrary to a common belief, antibiotic resistance is not about your body becoming resistant to antibiotics.

How bacteria adapt

  • The ability for bacteria to adapt lies in part with their astonishing rate of reproduction.
  • While most changes are bad, sometimes they can help the bacteria grow in the presence of an antibiotic.
  • This evolution of resistance can be seen by growing bacteria on a large agar plate (a nutrient support that bacteria like to grow on) with zones of increasing antibiotic levels.

They also exchange genetic material

  • The other key mechanism enabling bacterial resistance is the exchange of genetic information between bacteria.
  • In addition to the main chunk of DNA that encodes the bacterial genome, bacteria can host circular DNA snippets called plasmids.
  • Plasmid exchange usually occurs by direct physical contact between bacteria.

4 ways bacteria resist

  • Gram-positive bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus have a thick cell wall enclosing a lipid membrane.
  • Antibiotics can hijack these entry routes, but bacteria can modify the cell wall, cell membrane and entry proteins to block antibiotic penetration.
  • For example, bacteria increase the thickness of the cell wall to resist antibiotics like vancomycin.
  • Bacteria have machinery known as efflux pumps, which regurgitate unwanted molecules from within the bacteria.
  • Bacteria can alter the pump so it is more effective at removing the antibiotic, or they can simply make more pumps.
  • Antibiotics, like most other drugs, generally work by blocking the function of important enzymes within the bacteria.
  • If bacteria alter the target shape by changing the DNA/protein sequence, the antibiotic (key) can no longer bind to its target (lock).

Bacteria vs antibiotics

  • While bacteria have developed mechanisms to resist antibiotics, these adaptations can come at a “fitness” cost.
  • Bacteria may grow more slowly, or can be killed more easily by another antibiotic.
  • This has led to the concept of “collateral sensitivity” to prevent or overcome resistance when treating patients, by using pairs of antibiotics.


Mark Blaskovich receives funding from a range of government, not-for-profit and commercial organisations for research into antibiotic discovery and development. He is affiliated with AAMRNet (Australian Antimicrobial Resistance Network), an organisation promoting improved care and development of antibiotics and antibiotic alternatives.

South Africa's universities aren't training future civil servants for what the country needs

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, November 7, 2023

They say the COVID pandemic worsened the situation as public resources had to be redirected from developmental commitments to address the emergency.

Key Points: 
  • They say the COVID pandemic worsened the situation as public resources had to be redirected from developmental commitments to address the emergency.
  • The universities responsible for producing the human capital needed for building state capacity must shoulder much of the blame.
  • In our view the biggest problem facing South Africa is that the training of current and future civil servants is not delivering what the country needs.


lacks the interdisciplinary approach needed to meet the country’s complex challenges
fails to grasp that technology will play a far greater role in the future
remains trapped in colonial theorisations.
We say this taking our cue from business administration education.

Self reflection

  • The dean of the Harvard Business School subsequently called for “great introspection”.
  • Harvard’s courage in dealing with the question of its business education is an inspiring lesson on how to confront the flaws of teaching for other fields.

Worrying trends in the teaching of public administration

  • Our analyses indicate that much of what is taught in public administration is not what the country needs to become a capable and developmental state.
  • Public administration education does not appreciate the imperative of socioeconomic transformation for social and ecological justice, or the role of technology.
  • In the 1980s, “New Public Management” become a staple diet pushed down the throats of students of public administration.
  • All this occurred because of the void in the teaching of public administration.

But what must be done

  • Professional associations exist to inculcate a culture of professionalism that many lament is lacking in the management of state affairs.
  • For far too long, collaborative efforts in the teaching of public administration have been a cursory pursuit bereft of strategic intent.
  • Theories of the state and citizenship, and the principles of democracy, need to underpin the teaching of public administration too.
  • Public administration needs to go beyond studying systems and processes, and the neoliberal logic associated with New Public Management.
  • He is affiliated with the South African Association of Public Administration and Management(SAAPAM).
  • He is the outgoing chief editor of the Journal of Public Administration and serves in the National Planning Commission.

AIs could soon run businesses – it’s an opportunity to ensure these 'artificial persons' follow the law

Retrieved on: 
Friday, October 27, 2023

Up to now, artificial persons have served the purpose of helping humans achieve certain goals.

Key Points: 
  • Up to now, artificial persons have served the purpose of helping humans achieve certain goals.
  • For example, people can pool assets in a corporation and limit their liability vis-à-vis customers or other persons who interact with the corporation.
  • But a new type of artificial person is poised to enter the scene – artificial intelligence systems, and they won’t necessarily serve human interests.
  • For example, AIs can read medical X-rays and do other medical tasks, and carry out tasks that require legal reasoning.

A different kind of person

  • Though in some cases these entities can be held liable for their actions, the law only allows humans to fully participate in the legal system.
  • The recent development of AI’s ability to understand human language unlocks its potential to interact with the legal system.
  • Under a legal principle known as the internal affairs doctrine, even if only one U.S. state allowed AI-operated LLCs, that entity could operate nationwide – and possibly worldwide.
  • This is because courts look to the law of the state of incorporation for rules governing the internal affairs of a corporate entity.

Building the law into AI

  • We suggest a research direction of integrating law into AI agents to help ensure adherence to legal standards.
  • Researchers could train AI systems to learn methods for internalizing the spirit of the law.
  • In addition to embedding law into AI agents, researchers can develop AI compliance agents – AIs designed to help an organization automatically follow the law.

Law-abiding (artificial) business owners

  • An AI tasked with operating the LLC and, among other things, maintaining proper business insurance would have an incentive to understand applicable laws and comply.
  • Having minimum business liability insurance policies is a standard requirement that most businesses impose on one another to engage in commercial relationships.


John Nay is the founder and CEO of Nomos AI, Inc. and a co-founder and the Chairman of Brooklyn Investment Group. Daniel Gervais does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.