Barnaby Joyce Won’t Get The Coronavirus App ’Coz He Treasures His Privacy From The Govt

barnaby joyce coronavirus

If you thought *that* new coronavirus tracking app was a huge invasion of privacy, you’re not alone because a number of federal politicians including Barnaby Joyce have just admitted they won’t be downloading it either.

In case you missed it, The Sydney Morning Herald reported earlier this week that the government is in the process of rolling out a coronavirus tracing app. As it currently stands, the app is voluntary, but Scott Morrison didn’t rule out the possibility of mandatory tracking. Yikes.

“I don’t want to be drawn on that,” Scott Morrison told The Spoonman on Hobart’s Triple M on Friday. “I want to give Australians the opportunity to get it right. That’s my objective, that’s my Plan A, and I really want Plan A to work.”

But it turns out we’re not alone in thinking this app is a big, giant invasion of privacy. Even federal politicians have publicly spoken out against the app, citing privacy concerns as a reason why they won’t be downloading it.

Yes. Even our own federal government think the federal government’s new app is a terrible idea.

Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has publicly expressed his unwillingness to give the government access to his movements.

“I treasure the government knowing as little about me as possible,” Joyce told 9 News. “Australia is doing an extraordinary job of flattening the curve by reason that we are overwhelmingly decent and logical people. We don’t need an app to tell us that.”

Barnaby, who is notorious for voicing his unwanted opinions on everything from abortions to the bushfire crisis, was promptly shut down by Government Services Minister Stuart Robert, who claims he’s got no idea what he’s talking about.

“Look Barnaby, no one wants to know where you’ve gone, pal, we are not interested. And plus the app doesn’t do geolocation,” Robert told 2GB. “I’m not interested in where you are on the face of the earth.”

Deputy Speaker Llew O’Brien has also spoken out against the app, claiming there’s a “snowflake’s chance in hell” he’d be downloading the app.

“It is way too Big-Brotherish for me,” he told News Corp papers on Sunday.

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