Tuesday, 9 August 2011 is census day in Australia and Aussies will be asked to describe their their age, profession, religion, income and the family makeup in a series of personal questions.

Census question 60 is whether people want to opt-out of having their census records made available in future to historians. If you answer yes, your census information will be kept by The National Archives and made available in 99 years. If you answer “no”, your census details will be destroyed once the statistical data has been aggregated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

A survey by Ancestry.com.au found one third of Australians plan to answer “no” to Question 60, even though 80 per cent of people surveyed said that preserving their family history was important to them. In the 18 to 34 age range, 40 per cent said they would answer “no”, and 68 per cent of them identified privacy concerns as the reason for doing so.

As much as I am an advocate of “informed consent”, a census is an important snapshot about the population at the particular time it is taken. Why are people concerned about sharing the data, 99 years from now, after we pass on?

Is it because we don’t want the government to know too much about us? They already do, but in general, data matching rules prevent government from putting all the pieces together in one place.

Is it because we want control over when and how the information is disclosed? Maybe, but then again, we choose (whether directly or implicitly) to disclose heaps more privacy-invasive data about ourselves everyday, on websites like Facebook, Google+ and Foursquare and while shopping, under retailers’ loyalty programs such as Woolworth’s Everyday Rewards.

Is it because storing too much data in one place provides too personal a snapshot? No, and see previous point.

I wonder whether it has to do with the way the question is phrased. I mean, when Facebook wants my permission to use facial recognition (or more accurately, whether I want to opt out) to automatically identify my friends in photos without their permission, Facebook asks me whether it should “suggest photos of me to friends”.

The Ancestry.com.au survey revealed that 7 in 10 Australians are unaware that by saying no (or by not answering the question), their census information will be destroyed.

Perhaps question 60 should instead ask, “Do you want your great great grandkids and historians to be able to learn a little about you?”

The final 2008 graduating class from Bond University received its awards on Saturday on the Gold Coast. I enjoyed my 6 semesters of law school, and was proud to stand beside many of my friends & colleagues at graduation. Congratulations to all! To the Canadian students who weren’t able to attend graduation, it wasn’t quite the same Bondie experience without you.

Photos

The Macleans.ca “Canada” blog has some interesting discussion about whether Canadian law schools produce enough new lawyers.

Where’s a lawyer when you need one?

The risk of earthquakes may be part of “life as usual” in California, but tsunami warnings are not commonplace in Australia.

So Monday morning’s urgent warnings that a tsunami could hit Australia were strange broadcasts to hear on the radio while driving to work or school. The instructions were to stay away from the water in any coastal area, and to be prepared for further evacuation instructions if they should become necessary.

My Canadian friends may be wondering what all the fuss was about, since news from the Pacific doesn’t often reach North America. Here is some background info (with thanks to The Age newspaper for some key details):

• At 6.40am Queensland time, a large earthquake in the Solomon Islands triggered a tsunami. It swamped many of the Solomon Islands, causing tremendous damage and at least 20 deaths (beyond the mayhem of the quake, bad enough).
• The Australian Bureau of Meteorology received the first bulletin from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii, when the quake measured 7.8 on the Richter scale. This level would not usually be enough to raise a tsunami concern beyond the northern coast of Queensland and the Willis and Barrier Reef islands.
• But by 7.30am, the quake had been reassessed at 8.1! The tsunami alert was extended to cover Queensland’s east coast, and warnings were issued for the NSW coast, Lord Howe and Norfolk islands and Tasmania’s eastern coastline — that is effectively the entire eastern coast of Australia!

Fortunately, the tsunami’s impact on Australia was nowhere close to the expectation. The sea level rose 20-25 cm near the Torres Strait, Cairns and Townsville but there was no real impact to Willis Island (an early warning station) nor to Cooktown, Qld where it had been expected any big waves would first strike the mainland. Many Queenslanders on the front-lines, however, were not impressed by the tsunami warning centre’s communication with local authorities and residents — Some mayors and senior officials first heard about the tsunami warning when the Australian Broadcasting corp. called them for interviews!!

The seismological history of the Solomon Islands area indicates that there will be more earthquakes and aftershocks for several weeks — and I heard this morning that a large quake, often as large as the first, tends to follow. But keeping Monday’s quake in context, it was 40 times lower in terms of energy output than the 2004 Boxing Day quake and resulting tsunami. The ’04 version measured 9 on the Richter scale and killed more than 200,000 people, prompting the Australian government to commit $68.9 million to upgrades of the tsunami alert system and establishment of a public warning system.

In all, Aussies and temporarily-transplanted Canadians like us should get used to the idea of hearing tsunami warnings in the future!

Read more on the Solomon Islands quake and tsunami warnings in Australia:

• CityTV news (Toronto) – Powerful Tsunami Hits Solomon Islands In South Pacific
• The Age newspaper – Tsunami fear rears up, then ebbs away
• News.com.au – Rescuers fly to devastated Gizo

Thank you to all who have asked how things are going here – Many apologies for not having answered earlier.

We have settled in, at last, and are trying to find that elusive balance between work/studying and finding our way around the city. We just had a relaxing weekend in Caloundra — thanks to Roy and Mary — and our first real trip to the beach! So things are great here – Sunburn and all

Life at law school is, well …. busy. I count on 60+ hours per week of school work; that’s 15 hours of class time, plus another 3-4 hours of study for every hour in lectures. It’s a full-time job! The half-way point in first semester passed by recently, so I am deep into the assignments on torts, contract law, and the legal system.

My classmates are varied mix of students young and old from diverse backgrounds, which makes for interesting stories and lively classes. Some of the students may be far too young for law school (high school grads taking their first degree), while others are complementing a prior degree with law studies (either direct from school, or a mix of school and work). The age range is 17-58, so while I may be the oldest Canadian student in my semester, I am not the most mature law student

Officially, Canadians make up 16% of the law student body. However, it seems even higher on most days — we’re everywhere! In one tutorial, 7 of 10 students are Canadians, while in another we make up only 2 of 12. My classes are generally small in size, but a large group of law students entered this semester so I think we are dragging the average numbers upwards.

Anna has been working overnight (12am-8am) to match the Toronto schedule — our broadband Internet service has been instrumental in making this practical. She has started to look for project management jobs in Brisbane, but is still hoping the local office of her Canadian employer will come through with an offer of something there. Anna is also enjoying fitness classes at the local gym.

How is it to live in Australia like? Excellent!! Anna and I can’t complain about the weather here — temperatures hit the high 20s to mid-30s nearly every day in summer, with pleasantly cool evenings.

There are a few things that take getting used to, however. This includes bats the size of large birds, poor customer service (esp. from providers of phone, Internet and other expensive services) and shorter store opening hours, water restrictions, and driving on the left side of the road with roundabouts and a left-hand stick shift. Still, these are easy when you consider the advantages of sunshine, beaches, friendly Aussies, way cheaper movie tickets, and Tim Tams.

It rains every few days, but hardly ever for very long. When it does rain, it pours down for about 30 minutes. Queensland has been in an drought for 10 years, so that regional water dams are at 22% of capacity. Water restrictions are severe, and about to become more harsh: The current “Level 4” water restriction means you can’t wash the car, water the lawn, or top up the swimming pool — bucket watering only, on 2 days per week in 60 minute time-slots. Level 5 restrictions, coming into effect on 10-April, will see the restrictions worsen. The lastest rumours are that construction of swimming pools will be banned, air conditioning limited to one room in each house, and that rainwater collection tanks will become mandatory on each property (this has prompted a rash of thefts recently).

We are hoping for a visit to Sydney over the exam break in April/May. This will give us a chance to look around there, and to pickup Piper ‘The Wonder Cat” who will be arriving on 27-March but then stuck in quarantine for at least 30 days.

Next time: A new chapter of Steve’s Aussie-English dictionary, including aerial pingpong, banana bender, bludger, butcher, chook, pommy shower, posties, and seppo.

Various tales from Australian newspaper headlines over the past week or so … Some funny, some serious.

Google Embarrassed in Australia – TechCrunch.com
Reporters at The Sydney Morning Herald discovered an embarrassing flaw in Google’s Map product – Google recommends a 10.4 kilometer trip, across the harbor and back, to go the thirty steps from Google’s Sydney headquarters to a hotel located across the street. The suggested route would also include a AU$3 bridge toll. Any query for driving directions from areas east, south or west of Google’s headquarters will suggest the same detour across the harbor, using a toll tunnel or bridge.

Guard dog leaks away a fortune - Lawyer Weekly, 2-Feb-2007
A jeweller from Dusseldorf, in Germany, lost two suitcases full of gold and diamonds when his security guard stopped to allow his dog to find a tree to christen.

Harald Herzmann decided to hire the guard and dog to accompany him to Tirol, Austria, to watch over the 1,522,147 euros ($2,501,257) worth of jewels.

“I often make the journey but not usually with so much jewellery, and had hired a security guard and dog as extra precautions,� he said. “I was walking the dog together with the security man and somebody grabbed the suitcases from the car.�

Police suspect an opportunistic passer by and are making their inquiries.

Aussie couple’s campervan cock-up -Â The Sydney Morning Herald
A holidaying Australian couple got the shock of their lives when police pulled over their campervan and told them they had their eight-year-old daughter.

Gold Coast No.1 for celebrities – The Sydney Morning Herald
A poll lists Queensland as the holiday hot spot for celebrities.

Gold Coast ‘child abuse hot spot’ – Sydney Morning Herald
The Gold Coast has become a hot spot for child abuse and injury by parents with drug and alcohol problems, Queensland Child Safety Minister Desley Boyle says.

Premier savages defence lawyers – The Australian
SOUTH Australian Premier Mike Rann yesterday enraged leading Queens Counsel with an incendiary attack on the state’s criminal defence lawyers, suggesting they are using loopholes in the state’s sexual assault and rape laws.

Project Vista
The Queensland state government is seeking expressions of interest for private-sector partners to build and operate an open-access, ultra high speed broadband network for the people and businesses of Brisbane.