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back to article The case for a police-civilian cyber super-agency in Australia

The Australian Federal Government is wasting millions of dollars on redundant cyber-capabilities. It should scupper its competing agencies and strip powers from others, and hand the lot to a resuscitated Australian High Tech Crime Center police-civilian super-agency that would be distributed across Australian capital cities. …

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  1. Peter Prof Fox

    Some redundancy == resiliance

    Suppose the only-central-hub is corrupt/masonic(same thing)/incompetent/lazy/ has poor standards and high turnover? To claim one and only one outfit is better (for values of better) need proper justification. Secondly in five year's time when psycho-security or whatever is the rage then will the one-central-empire be able to compete honestly with Fred's two clever buggers who are surfing!

    Some level of challenge to supremacy is always required. The alternative is an extra-territorial challenge that can catch Drake or whoever, unawares. Whatever system is adopted must embody FREQUENT, INTRUSIVE and DEVIOUS audits. The year's later crap from PWC is a waste of money.

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  2. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

    You need redundancy so you can have the various agencies investigate eachother. If you just have a single agency what you end up with is a bunch of out-of-control and untouchable witch-hunters.

    Or maybe that's the intention?

    We live in a shitty timeline.

    4 0 Reply
    1. Denarius
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      Devil

      TP, Got it in one.

      Especially with an AG like BranFlakes. The Fed cops already kept on short info leash by ASIO who brag about it. Fed cops keep State cops on same drip feed diet. What is needed is an anti-corruption/harassment body that can scare the spooks and ministers that only reports to a joint sitting of both houses of parliament to keep all of the peeping toms in line while allowing necessary security and policing work to go ahead with minimal overhead.

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  3. GrumpyOldBloke

    > a civilian-led agency with police powers obtained by the secondment of police offices

    Have you seen border farce and the embarrassment they have become at the airports. A tribute to low recruiting standards replacing previously friendly and efficient immigration and quarantine officers. Sorry but the nut jobs holding the reigns of power in Canberra haven't seen a uniform yet that they don't like the look of. We are treading the path of a totalitarian police state with the destruction of civil liberties and the inevitable destruction of the economy that follows. Civilian-led, not in Tony's life time.

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    1. W.S.Gosset
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      I will just mention that your experience is not uniform across Australia. Brisbane airport's immigration/customs/etc crew retains the friendliness and efficiency you remember, for example.

      Having said that, the toxic culture of the south-east is rising rampant, spilling poisonously over the borders north & west, over the actual Australians.

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  4. sms123

    Sounds like you're suggesting a cut in funding

    Quote: "Conventional wisdom puts the FBI with 10 times the resources of the AFP, ..."

    A well put argument for cutting funding to the AFP,. Considering that the USA has more than 10x the population that would equate to a 10-20% cut for the AFP wouldn't it?

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