In case you needed a reminder that Australia is the stupidest country on earth and the people who run it are at least five times stupider than the average citizen, have I got the bloody yarn for you!
As you may have seen, the ABC have been publishing leaks from secret government cabinet files over the past week or so, which have been widely publicised throughout the media. Included in those stories were the revelation that Scott Morrison did his very best to delay refugee processing and that Tony Abbott‘s government wanted to kick under-30s off Centrelink altogether.
Of course, these leaks raised eyebrows, as cabinet documents aren’t meant to be released for 20 years. Well, the ABC has confirmed exactly the source of this leak: these top secret files were inside a secondhand cabinet that someone bought in Canberra.
That’s right: the source of this massive security breach was a secondhand furniture store in the nation’s capital which frequently flogs ex-government furniture. Here’s what the ABC says:
Journalism like this relies on brave confidential sources, and we’ll protect their privacy at all costs. Suffice to say no-one broke any laws.
The documents were in two locked filing cabinets sold at an ex-government sale in Canberra. They were sold off cheaply because they were heavy and no-one could find the keys. A nifty person drilled the locks and uncovered the trove of documents inside.
Right. I’m finding it difficult to comprehend the thought process here. Ah, we’ve lost the keys to this very heavy filing cabinet in Parliament House. Guess the only solution we have is to sell it immediately.
The ABC reiterates that no one broke the law in this case, and it’s entirely possible they’ve openly published this information to maintain some transparency while security agencies are no doubt sniffing around. Which is a concern, given that Australia now has some of the most punishing anti-whistleblower laws in the world.
Go and have a look at what else was revealed. Here’s a quick summary, aside from the two things I already mentioned above:
- Shockingly, Andrew Bolt was consulted by the government when they were considering changes to Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.
- John Howard‘s government wanted to ditch the right to silence altogether, which is a massive assault on civil rights.
- Kevin Rudd was warned about the possible risks of his pink batts home insulation scheme, which resulted in the deaths of several people involved in installing them.
- Unsurprisingly, considering how this info was leaked, it turns out the Australian Federal Police have lost nearly 400 national security files in 5 years. Nice one, guys!
God this country is stupid.
