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Govt harvests personal details in web site con

Premier John Brumby is trying to trick Victorians into disclosing their names and email addresses to gain access to the web site containing the Government’s media releases, says the Member for Eastern Victoria, Philip Davis.

By Kevin Balshaw - 27th October 2009 - Back to News

Premier John Brumby is trying to trick Victorians into disclosing their names and email addresses to gain access to the web site containing the Government’s media releases, the Member for Eastern Victoria, Philip Davis, said today.

Mr Davis said a new home page that appeared on the site, www.premier.vic.gov.au/newsroom/media-releases.html, on Monday (Oct. 26) asks visitors to subscribe in order to receive the latest Government announcements.

"A prominent panel beside a half-length photograph of the premier has fields for people to enter their first and last names, email address and postcode," Mr Davis said.

"Only at the bottom of the panel is there an alternative link into the site proper, containing the current and archived media releases of the premier and ministers. Even then, the link does not mention media releases but refers to the site premier.vic.gov.au, which is the premier’s official web site."

Mr Davis said the addition of the subscription page as the first point of entry to the site was deliberately deceptive.

""The Government has crossed the line that divides the provision of a public service on an objective and informative basis and engaging in blatantly political activity," he said.

"It is harvesting the names, emails and residential locations of Victorians for obviously political purposes, an action that is well outside the boundary of the guidelines for official government communications.

"A year out from the next state election, the intention is clearly to build a database that Labor will use during the election campaign."

Mr Davis said he would raise the issue during the next sitting week of Parliament to demand that the subscription page be removed from the web site.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: kevin.balshaw@parliament.vic.gov.au

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