back to article Oz researchers, uni unite against Defence overreach

Australia’s research and university communities have united against what they see as Department of Defence overreach: the brass-hats want greater powers to control international collaboration. The battle centres around the two-yearly review of Australia’s defence controls legislation, and a June submission by the Department …

  1. Nick Kew

    What are they saying?

    The fundamental principle of a university is to share information. Publish it!

    If the military fund a university project, then they get to attach strings, that might include restrictions on publishing. University decision: accept strings or walk away. OK so far in principle.

    But this story reads as if the military want to extend powers beyond that. Censor work over and above that where strings have been attached and accepted. Stand between universities and that fundamental goal of publication.

    Really?

    1. Mark 65

      Re: What are they saying?

      Reads a bit like the old US crypto export restrictions. The problem with research discoveries is that you may be first past the post but others are not far behind. This would seem to just hamstring the locals in that they could make first discovery but do nothing with it. Or not be able to be part of leading international research at all.

      1. Nick Kew

        Re: What are they saying?

        The parallel that sprang to my mind was where the US overreached even further to censor a paper published not by a US university or researcher, but by Adi Shamir (the S in RSA) at the Weizmann Institute in Israel. This was back in about 1985-ish, so the medium of publication was paper. Weizmann and Shamir duly recalled the paper (so much for sovereignty), but by then it was of course "out there" and copies were floating around.

        A precedent in futility!

  2. bigtreeman

    authoritarianism

    Overstretched authoritarianism.

    Didn't say what constitutes 'sensitive' or is that classified and above my pay grade ?

    Universities aren't the only Ozzies doing research which could be deemed 'sensitive'.

    I would have thought a large slab of research was by companies.

    How do military ?intelligence? get around 'commercial in confidence' ?

POST COMMENT House rules

Not a member of The Register? Create a new account here.

  • Enter your comment

  • Add an icon

Anonymous cowards cannot choose their icon

Other stories you might like