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Why And How Is Australia Becoming Authoritarian?
and what does that say about government power during the COVID age?
Australians have recently been faced with strict travel restrictions to the country. And in a move that many consider unconstitutional, Australians are prevented from leaving their own country. As Conor Friedersdorf points out in an Atlantic article, restrictions such as these had been, until now, “associated with Communist regimes.”
But Friedersford might have much more to worry about. Inter-state travel restrictions are also being put in place. States such as South Australia have gone so far as to develop and test an Orwellian face-recognition app. This app requires residents to send the government facial recognition and location data whenever it asks for it. For now, the only consequence of not complying is that government officials will pay a visit to the resident's homes. But, seeing the trajectory Australia is on, the dangers of more drastic punishments are very real.
Many cases of people trying to enter or leave states like Victoria have been met with harsh penalties. In some cases, Australians even needed a “valid” excuse to leave their own homes. And, as if to continue on the Orwellian trajectory South Australia started, police has tried to stop anti-government sentiment before it even…
