tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/barry-spurr-13024/articlesBarry Spurr – The Conversation2014-11-16T19:19:33Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/339382014-11-16T19:19:33Z2014-11-16T19:19:33ZAbbott, Spurr, Peris: are we ready to use the internet unsupervised?<p>When Frances Abbott’s private <a href="https://newmatilda.com/2014/10/23/frances-abbott-scholarship-whistblower-has-sentencing-delayed">scholarship award was “exposed”</a>, when poetry professor Barry Spurr was <a href="https://theconversation.com/spurr-vs-new-matilda-case-pits-privacy-against-public-interest-33300">outed for his inflammatory emails</a> and when Senator Nova Peris was devastated by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/publish-and-be-slammed-33675">leaking of her private emails</a>, a media frenzy ensued about their behaviour and character. But less was said about how the information was obtained.</p>
<p>Every day we can read innumerable stories about the internet, published on the internet. Rather than portraying it as a medium that makes our lives better, the stories frequently and depressingly trumpet our abuse and misuse of the internet. But let’s backtrack for a bit.</p>
<p>Thanks to <a href="http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/">Tim Berners-Lee</a> in August 1991, we were suddenly presented with the World Wide Web. It took off spectacularly. As far as society’s ability to assimilate new developments is concerned, 1991 is not that long ago. We haven’t had much time to learn how drive this amazing cyber vehicle, so cyber accidents are common: online head-ons, rear-enders, side-swipes and, more ominously, hit-and-runs.</p>
<h2>We’re still learning to use cars safely</h2>
<p>Many parallels can be drawn between society’s adoption of the internet and the motor vehicle. We’ve been driving cars for around five or six generations, but we still kill and maim each other in them every day. While this, at worst, indicates that we might be slow learners, it also shows how long it takes society to adapt to a new technology and normalise its use, if ever.</p>
<p>Information technology development, especially online innovation, is possibly the fastest-moving social phenomenon humans have had to contend with. But our human foibles will not allow society to realise the full potential of being online any time soon. Six generations later, it is still doubtful whether humans are competent enough to drive cars safely. That the vehicle industry is well-advanced in developing <a href="https://theconversation.com/self-driving-cars-will-not-help-the-drinking-driver-31747">self-drive cars</a> suggests we cannot be trusted behind the wheel.</p>
<p>The extraordinary pace of development of the internet, which is fast becoming the Internet of Things (the IOT – only one more syllable to IDIOT), seems to have knocked our integrity and moral and ethical judgement askew. As a society, we do not seem to know what is right or wrong online.</p>
<p>We have trouble establishing behavioural norms as we have done all our lives in almost every other field. Although we still cherish our privacy in a hard-copy kind of way, we are happy as individuals, organisations and governments to stretch the boundaries of acceptable online behaviour. We willingly sacrifice our own (and others’) privacy for functionality, connectivity and the right to have a say on any subject.</p>
<h2>Moral and ethical compasses go haywire online</h2>
<p>In our “real” lives of physical, face-to-face engagement with other people, we are conditioned by long-held societal norms and values to behave with politeness and mutual respect, at least on initial contact. Online we seem to smash our moral compasses, put on our ugly faces and trammel the dignity and rights of all and sundry. We morph into trolls, bullies, bigots, vigilantes and morons – and that is without adding alcohol or other stimulants.</p>
<p>This online psychosis, which attests to the reality that we haven’t yet earned our internet L-plates, has been thrown into stark relief by the three incidents mentioned above.</p>
<p>The first was the hacking and subsequent guilty plea to unauthorised access by 21-year-old <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2014/oct/23/freya-newman-sentence-deferred-frances-abbott-scholarship-leak">Freya Newman</a> who, with the help of New Matilda, “exposed” Frances Abbott’s scholarship award by a private company. The second was the exposure of emails sent by Spurr. The third was the publication of Peris’ personal emails, which led her to make an impassioned statement in parliament. </p>
<h2>Do social rules and laws not apply?</h2>
<p>These incidents have kindled a huge amount of social and other media comment. Many commentators supported Newman’s actions as being <a href="https://newmatilda.com/2014/10/28/unanswered-questions-hunt-freya-newman">in “the public interest”</a> as she tried to hack down (pun intended) the tall-poppy figure of Frances Abbott and, by association, her father, prime minister Tony Abbott. Likewise, Spurr was considered to be justly outed given his role in <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-16/university-of-sydney-professor-alleged-sent-racist-sexist-emails/5820220">reviewing the national education curriculum</a>. </p>
<p>The social media verdict is still out on Peris, but some think she has some explaining to do.</p>
<p>But are Abbott, Spurr and Peris guilty as charged or are they victims? Is the leaking of their personal details and missives an omen of an Orwellian future for our online existence? It is certainly a sign of how nasty and polarised the political game has become. </p>
<p>It is not my intent to argue the moral case of these three, but to question whether trust has become a serious casualty of our umbilical connection to the internet. We don’t yet know how Spurr’s and Peris’s emails were obtained: were their accounts hacked too, or were they the victims of a catastrophic failure of personal trust? In Abbott’s case, it is clear that Newman illegally accessed a company’s IT network, exposing more than 500 other students’ details, to find supposedly incriminating “evidence” about her scholarship.</p>
<p>Despite the claims of public interest, one trait that stands out about these “leaks” is their vindictive motive. Many social media commentators claim that Newman is merely <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/student-who-leaked-frances-abbott-scholarship-details-motivated-by-sense-of-injustice-court-told-20141023-11acza.html">a whistleblower</a> exposing fraud and corruption, despite her guilty plea and <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/frances-forgives-apologetic-hacker/story-e6frg6n6-1227117631128">apology to Frances Abbott</a>. She clearly realises that a contrite defendant gets less time than an unrepentant one. </p>
<p>Fortunately, I’m sure there are many people who would not choose Newman as their paladin charged with protecting our morals and virtues. </p>
<h2>A crime is a crime in the ‘real’ and internet worlds</h2>
<p>The act of accessing an IT network without authority is a crime in Australia. Those who believe it is OK in the public interest might ask themselves if it would be OK for a thief to break into someone’s house to steal their personal correspondence. </p>
<p>There is no difference – just because it is done online, where there is no embarrassing or risky physical and personal contact, doesn’t make it any less repugnant. It is quite simply theft.</p>
<p>It was refreshing to see how American actress <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/vf-hollywood/2014/10/jennifer-lawrence-cover">Jennifer Lawrence</a> dealt with the recent theft and exposure of her online nude photos:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Just because I’m a public figure, just because I’m an actress, does not mean that I asked for this. It does not mean that it comes with the territory. It’s my body and it should be my choice, and the fact that it is not my choice is absolutely disgusting. I can’t believe that we even live in that kind of world … It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime, it is a sexual violation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Likewise, Abbott’s personal information was exposed by a criminal act. Her privacy as well as Spurr’s and Peris’ has been violated to create a scandal. It seems the internet has become the tool of choice for the jealous and zealous to better engage in Australia’s most unfortunate cultural pursuit of felling tall poppies.</p>
<p>As many cry out for law enforcement, intelligence and security agencies to be subjected to even stronger regulation and oversight as they carry out their legislated duties, we need to think very carefully about whether or not we want to give unconditional licence to so-called whistleblowers and their media collaborators to become investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner. We will learn which way the court falls on this question when Newman is sentenced on November 25.</p>
<p>We need to tread cautiously to avoid feeding oxygen to vigilantes who would make George Orwell proud. Who knows? You might be next.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/33938/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tim Scully is a member of the Australian Information Security Association.</span></em></p>When Frances Abbott’s private scholarship award was “exposed”, when poetry professor Barry Spurr was outed for his inflammatory emails and when Senator Nova Peris was devastated by the leaking of her private…Tim Scully, PhD Candidate, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/320902014-11-13T03:13:36Z2014-11-13T03:13:36ZDon’t be a bystander – help eradicate racism from campus<p>In recent weeks we have been reminded that our university campuses, like everywhere else, are not racism-free spaces. The controversy surrounding <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/24/barry-spurr-v-new-matilda-the-facts-the-law-and-the-porridge">poetry professor Barry Spurr</a> serves to remind us that universities cannot be complacent when it comes to racism, and that building inclusive, diverse campuses should be an active and ongoing process. </p>
<p>Academics have written an <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/academics-urge-universities-to-act-on-race-and-gender-discrimination-20141031-11f1px.html">open letter to vice-chancellors</a> asking that complaints of racist harassment, bullying and vilification be taken seriously, to avoid more victims and more silence. </p>
<p>University campuses are not safe from the Islamaphobia that is swirling in the world around us. Muslim students have reported vilification and other forms of racist incivility, particularly while in transit to campus. Fortunately, there are <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2782274/Student-secretly-films-reactions-racist-rants-against-Muslims-Sydney.html">citizens who speak out and challenge the proponents of racism</a> when they attempt to injure and exclude through their aggressive rants.</p>
<h2>Teach bystanders to be active</h2>
<p>While there are many ways to tackle racism, <a href="http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/%7E/media/ResourceCentre/PublicationsandResources/Discrimination/Bystander%20Discrim%20FULL%20REPORT.ashx">international research</a> says that tackling bystander inaction is one of the most effective ways to combat racism in an institution like a university.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.academia.edu/1503629/Bystander_Anti-Racism_A_Review_of_the_Literature_draft_only_">Bystander anti-racism</a> is action by “ordinary” people in response to interpersonal or systemic racism that they witness. <a href="http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/bystander-discrimination">Research has found</a> that while many people are uncomfortable when they see racism, for a variety of reasons (fear of becoming a target, and lack of knowledge of what can be done) they do not always respond.</p>
<p>There are many <a href="http://www.uws.edu.au/ssap/ssap/research/challenging_racism/initiatives">forms of anti-racism</a>. This bystander training complements some of the more familiar community relations initiatives that most universities run, such as <a href="http://www.omi.wa.gov.au/omi_harmony_week.cfm">diversity celebrations</a> and <a href="http://www.uws.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/more_news_stories/uws_celebrates_ramadan_iftar">culturally specific events</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/bystander-discrimination">Research</a> has shown it is possible to build a culture of active bystanders within organisations, specifically large workplaces and academic settings. However, researchers have found very few examples of bystander programs that have been undertaken in Australia. The work on bystander anti-racism by the <a href="http://www.uws.edu.au/ssap/ssap/research/challenging_racism">Challenging Racism Project</a>, led from UWS, emphasises the need to develop evidenced based bystander anti-racism programs in Australia.</p>
<p>Bystander anti-racism programs have to build people’s knowledge and skills, address the social conditions that can lead to race-based discrimination and intolerance, and establish a climate where there is strong visible support for constructive bystander action.</p>
<h2>Doing something about racism</h2>
<p>The University of Western Sydney is one of the most culturally diverse university campuses in Australia. Its student body is made up of students from more than 100 different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. As a result, UWS has undertaken an anti-racism project called Do Something About Racism.</p>
<p>The project comprises three elements that aim to address racism on campus. The first consists of a series of bystander anti-racism workshops for staff and students, that explore racial identity and racism in Australia; look at who is responsible for challenging racism; and provide learners with opportunities to role-play being an active anti-racism bystander in the face of an incident involving racism. So far, eight workshops have been conducted with professional staff, academic staff and students.</p>
<p>The second element is a <a href="http://www.uws.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/748725/DoSomethingAboutRacism_4Postcards.pdf">communications campaign</a> using artwork developed by fourth-year UWS design students, which aims to send a strong message to the entire UWS community that we all need to do something about racism.</p>
<p>The final element of the project provides an opportunity for cross-cultural contact between the UWS community and three of the largest culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Western Sydney, namely Vietnamese, Chinese and Indian, over dinner. The dinners were developed in consultation with the communities and create a space where people of diverse cultural backgrounds can work together to host and enjoy the events. </p>
<p>UWS is using this project as an opportunity to obtain research data on the effectiveness of bystander anti-racism interventions. Once we have analysed the data to look at how effective the program has been, research findings will assist UWS and other universities to develop effective strategies to combat racism and other forms of discrimination. </p>
<p>All university staff and students should speak up and speak out when they witness racism. Taking action does work. People just need to know what sorts of action they can take, and how to do so safely and with effect.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/32090/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Dunn receives funding from the Australian Research Council, University of Western Sydney, Australian Human Rights Commission, VicHealth and NSW Police Force.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacqueline Nelson receives funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tatiana Lozano does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In recent weeks we have been reminded that our university campuses, like everywhere else, are not racism-free spaces. The controversy surrounding poetry professor Barry Spurr serves to remind us that universities…Kevin Dunn, Dean of the School of Social Science and Psychology, Western Sydney UniversityJacqueline Nelson, Senior Research Officer, Western Sydney UniversityTatiana Lozano, Equity and Dievrsity Education Manager, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/335292014-10-28T02:03:02Z2014-10-28T02:03:02ZA Spurr to abandoning the literary canon<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62927/original/jrbzp6b9-1414454530.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62927/original/jrbzp6b9-1414454530.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62927/original/jrbzp6b9-1414454530.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62927/original/jrbzp6b9-1414454530.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62927/original/jrbzp6b9-1414454530.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62927/original/jrbzp6b9-1414454530.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62927/original/jrbzp6b9-1414454530.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/62927/original/jrbzp6b9-1414454530.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Feminists, people of colour, and other socially marginalised groups have challenged the canon in a variety of ways.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Len Matthews</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Most people had little call to know of University of Sydney poetry professor Barry Spurr until a series of his emails <a href="https://newmatilda.com/2014/10/19/transcripts-partial-works-professor-barry-spurr-poet-racist-misogynist">were published</a> by New Matilda. The messages contained racist slurs, misogynistic attitudes, and viewpoints that did not accord with the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/21/literary-values-and-appaling-opinions-co-exist?CMP=soc_567">intelligent and enlightened perspective</a> that we might expect of a senior academic.</p>
<p>The professor was hired as a consultant for the federal government’s <a href="http://docs.education.gov.au/node/36269">National Curriculum Review</a>. </p>
<p>Spurr has claimed his use of offensive terms were part of a “whimsical linguistic game”. </p>
<p>Yet the broader ideas expressed in his correspondence about multiculturalism and Indigenous peoples seem to reinforce his professional views about what kinds of literature are worth studying. </p>
<p>One of Spurr’s recommendations to the National Curriculum Review was that there should be “greater emphasis on dealing with and introducing literature from the Western literary canon”, including knowledge of the Bible.</p>
<p>In one of the emails published by New Matilda, Spurr argues that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[t]he impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on literature in English in Australia has been minimal and is vastly outweighed by the impact of global literature in English and especially that from Britain, on our literary culture. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Spurr observes that the Californian school curriculum:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>does not ONCE mention native Americans and has only a very slight representation of African-American literature (which, unlike Abo [sic] literature, actually exists and has some distinguished productions).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Spurr’s email seems to suggest that the Californian curriculum is correct to exclude Native American literature in the same way that Indigenous Australian writing should be absent from the Australian curriculum. </p>
<p>Although, given that Spurr claims that Aboriginal literature does not actually exist, it’s a conundrum as to how it has been able to feature excessively (by his standards) in the existing curriculum he critiques. </p>
<p>While Spurr concedes that African American writers have produced some “distinguished” works of literature, his comments seem ignorant of important Native American writers including Louise Erdrich, Leslie Marmon Silko, Joy Harjo, and Sherman Alexie. But perhaps nominations for the Pulitzer Prize, American Book Awards and National Book Award aren’t sufficient distinctions by Spurr’s criteria. </p>
<p>Likewise, it’s astounding to think that an Australian literature professor is not aware of highly-regarded Indigenous Australian writers including Alexis Wright (winner of the Miles Franklin Award), Melissa Lucashenko (winner of the Dobbie Prize), and Kim Scott (winner of the Miles Franklin), for a start.</p>
<h2>The trouble with the literary canon</h2>
<p>But perhaps it’s not that Professor Spurr is unfamiliar with Indigenous writers or the calibre of their novels and poems, but simply that he cannot accommodate them within the narrow conception of the Western literary canon that he wishes to uphold. </p>
<p>His scholarship concentrates on early modern poets, including Donne and Milton, and the influence of religion on poetry, as in his books on T.S. Eliot and Christianity and representations of the Virgin Mary in English poetry. </p>
<p>The traditional literary canon marked out particular texts as more valuable than others. These were the kinds of books that were “worthy” of inclusion in school and university courses: books that any educated person ought to have read. </p>
<p>The canon was largely comprised of dead, white, male, middle-class authors. This, not unsurprisingly, reflected the qualities—apart from being deceased— of those who were sufficiently socially advantaged to determine what “good” literature was. </p>
<p>For the past half century, the canon has been called into question for its exclusion of writers who do not fit this privileged mould. Feminists, people of colour, and other socially marginalised groups have challenged the canon in a variety of ways.</p>
<p>First, by arguing for the inclusion of works by women writers and writers of colour who had been overlooked. Second, by attempting to create new canons featuring works by writers from these neglected groups. Third, by dismantling the concept of the canon, and the idea that there can be any objective list of “Great Books”, altogether. </p>
<p>Being mindful of the power structures behind canon formation does not mean that students of literature no longer need to be familiar with the plays of Shakespeare. However, acknowledging the biases involved in selecting “great” books and the way these shift over time leads most literature lecturers to teach a wider range of fiction and poetry than would have been the case when English literature was first taught in prestigious universities. </p>
<p>In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the study of Classics was considered a more worthwhile endeavour than the study of English literature. Ancient Greek and Roman literature were the educational province of the elite, in comparison with English literature that the working classes could read. </p>
<p>Spurr suggests that the inclusion of literature with Indigenous and Asian influences in the school curriculum distracts from <a href="http://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/review_of_the_national_curriculum_final_report.pdf">the grand goal</a> of “dealing with and introducing literature from the Western literary canon”. </p>
<p>It is hard to imagine why we would want to rigidly impose the problematic concept of the Western canon on school students, especially when school teachers have a more <a href="http://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/review_of_the_national_curriculum_final_report.pdf">practical understanding</a> of what kinds of texts work in the classroom. </p>
<p>It may well be that contemporary novels like Native American Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and the children’s fiction of Indigenous Australian storyteller and inaugural Australian Children’s Laureate Boori Monty Prior are what Australian schoolchildren need to be reading in a multicultural society in which professors still might refer to Asians as “chinky-poos” and Indigenous Australians as “human rubbish tips”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/33529/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Most people had little call to know of University of Sydney poetry professor Barry Spurr until a series of his emails were published by New Matilda. The messages contained racist slurs, misogynistic attitudes…Michelle Smith, Research Fellow, Centre for Memory, Imagination and Invention, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/333002014-10-23T02:13:22Z2014-10-23T02:13:22ZSpurr vs New Matilda case pits privacy against public interest<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/62578/original/3yv392w6-1414024336.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The big issue here is what is deemed more important: the right to know or the right to privacy?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/newtown_grafitti/6331239615">Flickr/Newtown Graffiti</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Don’t be distracted by theatrics about political correctness, the boundaries of bad humour and professorial impropriety. The real excitement in the “Spurr Affair” has been occurring in the Federal Court. It is excitement about the shape of privacy in Australian law and about legal recognition of “public interest”. That interest is a compelling “right to know” as a basis of the liberal democratic state, rather than just public curiosity.</p>
<p>Prior to the release of emails from Spurr to as-yet-unidentified recipients, most Australians had never heard of the Sydney University Professor of Poetry. Supposedly jocular vilification in the email exchanges has attracted national condemnation since their <a href="https://newmatilda.com/2014/10/19/transcripts-partial-works-professor-barry-spurr-poet-racist-misogynist">unauthorised publication by New Matilda</a>. </p>
<p>Publication has been justified on the basis of public interest. Do we need to know that one of the most senior academics at one of Australia’s most senior universities privately uses language that you’d typically associate with pottymouth characters in South Park? </p>
<p>New Matilda appears to consider that there’s value in knowing – and condemning – the character of one of the architects of the national curriculum review. It’s engaged in a naming and shaming exercise.</p>
<p>Apparently to deflect criticism of its action, New Matilda asserts that Spurr’s use of the university network means that his correspondence is public and thus not legally protected. That assertion is contentious; it means that any official – rather than merely any university employee – would be unprotected. </p>
<p>Spurr gained an interim Federal Court injunction to freeze impending publication of his email. He has sought other remedies, including disclosure of New Matilda’s source (who isn’t protected under whistle-blowing law). </p>
<p>His litigation is an opportunity to strengthen inconsistent recognition of privacy in Australian law. It may also reaffirm the principles regarding public interest highlighted in the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1988/25.html">Spycatcher</a> and <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/HCA/1980/44.html">Defence Papers</a> judgments. In these cases, the court recognised that informed public understanding on matters of national interest overrode concerns such as the maintenance of secrecy or embarrassing a government.</p>
<p>Spurr appears to be relying on the injunction provisions in <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/pa1988108/s98.html">section 98</a> of the Privacy Act 1998, the national information privacy statute, and a claim that publication breaches his common law right to privacy. New Matilda will presumably rely on section <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/pa1988108/s7b.html">7B(4)</a> of the same Act, which strongly privileges the media.</p>
<h2>Four things we have to understand about this case</h2>
<ol>
<li><p>As an employee, Spurr’s use of the university network is covered by the institution’s “acceptable use” policy, typically tied to an employment contract. Policies associated with employment in Australian universities usually identify that some staff email is confidential and that all staff email is a university rather than public resource. Spurr and the university may disagree about who has copyright in the email. That copyright has been infringed by New Matilda, which may rely on traditional defences regarding reporting in the public interest.</p></li>
<li><p>Protection of privacy in Australian law is complex, evolving and often misunderstood. There is disagreement about the best mechanisms for stopping a disregard of privacy and gaining compensation for that disregard. There is no comprehensive <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au//publications/serious-invasions-privacy-digital-era-alrc-report-123">national law</a> for damages occurring from breaches of privacy. Despite recurrent <a href="https://theconversation.com/far-from-sinister-privacy-laws-might-mean-media-does-its-job-better-3326">recommendations</a>, the national government is unlikely to provide a statutory basis for such damages. Importantly, the national Privacy Act is weak but is <strong>not</strong> the only law that can protect personal life. The protection of personal life outside that Act is uneven but more common than often recognised, because much action is settled without a final judgment.</p></li>
<li><p>There are competing claims of public interest. Spurr, like any academic and any non-academic, can reasonably expect that most correspondence will not be placed in the public arena. Along with all Australians he should expect a freedom from inappropriate interference, a respect for his privacy. There is a fundamental public interest in allowing people to be undisturbed. That clashes with New Matilda’s claim that there is a compelling public interest in knowing about the character and values of policymakers and educators. The litigation potentially requires the Federal Court to articulate a balance between those interests.</p></li>
<li><p>Finally, the dispute may revive questions about media self-regulation. Are invasions of privacy a legitimate cost of a robust free media in an era where journalists might be imprisoned for <a href="http://law.anu.edu.au/events/anu-college-law/2014-annual-lionel-murphy-memorial-lecture">reporting</a> on national security? Can we expect News Corp and New Matilda to behave responsibly?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>For academics, the Spurr Affair is a reminder that all email on a university network – along with records of your browsing – is open to scrutiny by university managers. It is not truly private: if you want “real” privacy use a non-academic account. It is also a reminder that some managers will assert that the email is university rather than personal property, irrespective of whether you’re a pottymouth or a puritan.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/33300/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bruce Baer Arnold does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Don’t be distracted by theatrics about political correctness, the boundaries of bad humour and professorial impropriety. The real excitement in the “Spurr Affair” has been occurring in the Federal Court…Bruce Baer Arnold, Assistant Professor, School of Law, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.