The police state of New South Wales

Podcast: New Politics: Australian Politics, News, Analysis & Commentary · New Politics

Opublikowano: 2026-08-14

The Minns government says its proposed expansion of NSW Police digital surveillance powers is necessary to combat organised crime, but allowing easier access to mobile phones through Digital Evidence Access Orders – and compelling people to surrender passwords and PINs – threatens privacy, civil liberties and judicial oversight. With restrictive protest laws, expanding facial-recognition technology and questions surrounding data collection and retention, NSW risks normalising extraordinary police powers that could eventually target protesters, journalists and political activists. The use of phone-extraction technology from Israeli digital-forensics company Cellebrite further demonstrates why warrants, independent scrutiny and strict data-protection rules are essential. As surveillance technology beco...