Lizzie is a human rights lawyer specialising in public interest litigation. Lizzie has local and international experience in a wide array of court jurisdictions, and is passionate about equality before the law and that the rule of law should be protected, particularly given the incursions on civil liberties that have become a staple part of the war on terror. In 2019, Lizzie received the Human Rights Hero Award for her work campaigning against Australia’s encryption laws.
Our submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee’s review of the National Security Legislation Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Bill 2017.
Encryption is a method for ensuring communications between two parties remain private from everyone else, including the carrier. Even if an encrypted communication is intercepted by a third party, it cannot be read by anyone except the people who are authorised to decrypt it. Encryption is a foundational tool for the proper functioning of the digital society and economy, and is used in a wide range of settings, including banking, public service delivery, and communications systems.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade invited submissions to develop Australia’s inaugural International Cyber Engagement Strategy.
The Government’s Cyber Security Strategy, released in April 2016, recognised the need for Australia to partner internationally to ensure our international cyber engagement advances our interests, as well as our values. To this end, the Government committed to publishing an International Cyber Engagement Strategy, including taking input from a wide range of interested parties.
The Attorney General recently asked for submissions about the potential use of metadata collected for the purposes of the data retention regime in civil cases. You can read our submission here. For those interested, this is a quick summary.
The Attorney-General’s Department invited submissions to support a review by the Minister for Communications and the Attorney-General into access to telecommunications data in civil proceedings.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression is conducting a study on freedom of expression in the telecommunications and Internet access sector. He will examine State regulation and action that affect access to telecommunications and Internet networks and services, particularly those provided by Telcos and ISPs.