Dr. Binoy Kampmark writes, in part:
The government, floundering before legislation that is ossifying on the Senate benches, is barking the usual reasons as to why this incompetent creation needs to pass: retaining such data is fundamental, despite the fact that the recent spate of attacks in Europe, not to mention the hostage situation in Sydney, would not have been prevented by such a data pool.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott, showing his characteristic immunity to reason, is convinced. “If we don’t keep this data, our crime fighting agencies and the police are flying blind.” Such deficiencies of sight are hardly likely to be cured by the data junkies, who, it seems, barely understand what it entails. What matters is that oversight and restriction to getting such data, most of it being superfluous to the agencies in question, can be accessed without warrant. The only requirement here is the signature of a faceless functionary.
Read his full commentary on GlobalResearch.