Is There Something Worrying About The Fact That The Privacy Commissioner Bails Just As National Breach Legislation Commences And With Opt-Out In The Wings?

Last week we had the rather sad news that the Privacy Commissioner has handed in his baton.

Last man standing: information and privacy commissioner Timothy Pilgrim to retire

By Stephen Easton • 20/02/2018

Timothy Pilgrim has announced his resignation from his dual-role as privacy and information commissioner, effective March 24.

Pilgrim started as the privacy commissioner in 2010, when the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner was a much better resourced body with a separate commissioner for FOI and an overarching information commissioner in John McMillan, who left in 2015, when the Abbott government intended to abolish the agency.

Soon Pilgrim was the only one of the three left, and was a steady hand during that period of uncertainty, explaining clearly what was going on even though it was not clear how long the OAIC would last.

The government accepted the Senate would not agree to abolish it so instead it drastically downsized its unwanted statutory body and Pilgrim has run it as the sole commissioner since 2016, with a reduced budget that forced him to reduce its functions and reduced its ability to meet statutory timeframes, such as those that apply to FOI reviews.

Today, Attorney-General Christian Porter said the commissioner had done an “outstanding job” in both roles and the government would soon begin the “merit-based selection process” replace him. Of course, he did not refer to his erstwhile leader’s failed plan to axe the OAIC:

More here:

https://www.themandarin.com.au/88709-last-man-standing-information-and-privacy-commissioner-timothy-pilgrim-to-retire/

The fact was covered here also with some pointing out just how hostile the present Government has been to the Privacy Commissioner.

Australia re-enters Information and Privacy Commissioner limbo

A little over a year after being permanently appointed, Information Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim is set to retire on March 24.

By Chris Duckett | February 20, 2018 -- 03:24 GMT (14:24 AEDT) | Topic: Security

(Image: OAIC)

Australian Attorney-General Christian Porter has announced that Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim is set to retire at the end of next month, with the search for a replacement to begin "soon".

With Pilgrim's departure, Australia looks set to once again enter the realm of commissioner limbo.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has been in various hobbled states ever since the the Federal Budget of 2014 was handed down and it was slated to be disbanded.

However, the office struggled on without any funding set aside for it, thanks to an obstinate Senate refusing to pass the legislation that would abolish it.

After its near-death experience, the office was eventually handed AU$9.3 million annually for four years in the 2016 Budget, although that funding was mostly siphoned off the Australian Human Rights Commission. In addition, most of its freedom of information duties were sent to other parts of the Attorney-General's Department.

Pilgrim has been in the role of privacy commissioner since July 2010, having previously served as deputy privacy commissioner from 1998, and, after a series of temporary rolling appointments over two years, finally became Australian Information Commissioner in September.

During Pilgrim's time, Australians had their privacy and security eroded under the tenure of former Attorney-General George Brandis, who instituted mandatory data retention, sought to criminalise the re-identification of de-identified government data, and forced telcos to become beholden to the Attorney-General's Department.

Brandis recently left the Senate to become the high commissioner in London.

More here:

http://www.zdnet.com/article/australia-re-enters-information-and-privacy-commissioner-limbo/

We are really entering unknown territory here and it is really important with all the nonsense around opt-out and the myHR that there we a well informed “cop on the beat” to keep the DOH and the ADHA accountable and under control.

What happens next deserves careful monitoring!

David.