Simon is being prescient, sensible and is an exemplary Australian.
To me, Simon displays the appropriate amount of pessimism. If the government grants itself the legal powers to enforce metadata to be collected, then the government is going to find ways to abuse the contents of the collection as surely as night follows day, whether the data is hosted long-term by ISPs or by the government itself. Might as well make them wear the cost of it (and the unpopular taxation involved in paying for it) - at least it makes it simpler for future revolutionary governments to hit the DEL button. (Or more likely, significant chunks of the archive will soon disappear as a consequence of future cost-saving).
However, I venture to suggest that Simon's sensible civil outcry won't get heard, and we'll end up with the worst of everything for both civil freedoms and the cost of telecommunications.
Trevor's valuable input would unfortunately not work on a practical level. To round up the two leading parties and herd them into the ocean with horses and bull-whips is geographically impractical, given Canberra's location (although I expect the entire nation would turn out to watch and cheer, should it be attempted). I think we may be forced to something like it in the next 30 years, since things are starting to get mildly dystopian around here. (And yet I wouldn't swap with the citizen of any other country for ... er, quids!)
Biting the hand that feeds IT
