Microsoft Australia flicks switch on Protected Azure-for-Gov service

> the suburbs of Hume and Fyshwick on the unfashionable outer edges of Canberra

The industrial estates of Hume and Fyshwick are unfashionable because they are industrial estates - light industry that is not zoned for residential use, not because they are on the edge of Canberra . Hume and especially Fyshwick are far closer to the centre of Canberra than quite a lot of the rest of Canberra.

Microsoft and CLOUD

I know that we in Oz are members of five eyes, and that most of our data is slurped by the NSA, etc., but have the Government and Microsoft considered the US CLOUD Act passed last week?

The CLOUD Act adds provisions to address foreign data privacy laws preventing providers from producing data stored abroad to U.S. authorities. The Act applies when the US has an agreement with a “qualifying foreign government” to address conflicts of law with “qualifying foreign countries” - But: US Courts must consider: the investigative interests of the US governmental entity seeking the disclosure and the importance of the information to the investigation; the foreign government’s interest in preventing the disclosure; the risk of penalties on the provider (or its employees) as a result of the conflict; the location and nationality of the subject of the warrant and their connection to the United States; the nature and extent of the provider’s ties to and presence in the United States; and the availability of alternate means of disclosure.

A good bit is: "This is available only if the provider must reasonably believe that the subject of the warrant is not a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States or located in the United States." Seeing what US prosecutors do, this inspires confidence?