It is well known that governments don’t like their affairs being aired publicly. You only need to look at what they have done to Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, arguably the most prolific government dissenters of our time.
But you don’t need to look beyond our own shores to see that none of us who speak out, are safe.
Let’s reflect for a moment, upon the AFP raiding the home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst 1. This occurred in 2019 due to a story she had received intelligence on and published 2.
This story exposed a proposal to grant the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) the power to secretly access the digital information of Australians without obtaining a warrant.
It was subsequently found, after protracted litigation, that the warrant enabling the raid on Smethurst’s home was invalid 3.
In March 2022, the home of an indigenous woman who was employed by the Department of Communities in Western Australia was also raided by police, some of whom were armed 4.
It was alleged that she leaked documents to the West Australian newspaper exposing racist behavior towards Aboriginal staff within the organisation.
Later that same year, indigenous woman Raelene Cooper also had her home raided 5.
Police arrived as she was giving evidence as an expert witness regarding the cumulative impact of industrial activity on the Burrup peninsula in northern Western Australia.
The New Normal
It is hard to suggest we live in a free and just society when those who want to make our society a better place are being bullied and intimidated into keeping quiet about issues they have observed.
Yet this is precisely what the new normal looks like in our society.
I speak to many people from many different walks of life every day.
Likewise, I receive intelligence about what is taking place at all levels of our society.
Perhaps the most disturbing thing for me is that many of those who I speak to should be having their stories told and made public.
However, the mainstream media is reluctant to report these stories unless it is a big story that simply cannot be held back.
Broken System Productions Continues to be Silenced
Readers have posted my latest article, Dissecting the Voice Referendum on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Telegram. Some have reported that the article is being automatically deleted within minutes of being posted.
Others have posted other links, such as the link to the Government Review System and those links have also been removed.
In one instance a user who posted this was automatically removed from a Telegram group. When the admins were approached about the removal of her account, they said it wasn’t them who removed her.
A while ago I set up a page on Facebook. Likewise, it is called Broken System Productions, and it republishes content from this site.
When I viewed this group from another account, it was heavily censored displaying only two articles.
The Wider Agenda
The current federal Labor government does not want scrutiny being brought upon its own policies and narrative.
This is abundantly clear with legislation currently before the parliament. This legislation, if passed, will give the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), the power to demand that social media companies remove material that is deemed to be misinformation or disinformation 6.
The problem with this, however, is who deems the content to be misinformation or disinformation?
Content, such as is published on this site may seem dramatic and sensationalist to many who are just discovering it.
Yet I have been working since 2018 trying to make sense of what I have seen with my own eyes.
It is very possible that what I publish may be seen as misinformation or disinformation. Yet I take the greatest of care to fact check everything that I publish.
Perhaps instead what I write about should instead be considered an uncomfortable truth.
Sharing the Message
Are we are only going to see more silencing of dissenting voices?
The only way to remain informed with what is happening will become subscribing to independent news sources.
If you like what is presented here I encourage you to forward this newsletter to your family, friends and colleagues. Also, let them know that they can subscribe to receive it themselves.
If you have something to say then please get involved.
If you have had an experience with the system then register an account and write about your experiences.
There are also many other initiatives planned in the coming months.
References
- Federal Police raid home of News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst
- Spying shock: Shades of Big Brother as cyber-security vision comes to light
- AFP will not lay charges against Annika Smethurst
- WA Government accused of racism
- WA Police raid home of Indigenous woman campaigning to protect sacred rock art
- Australian Labor government pushes social media censorship