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Student’s alleged jailing in China over Australian pro-democracy protests sparks calls for inquiry

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Australia’s human rights commissioner has said the Chinese student who was allegedly jailed for six years by Chinese authorities for joining protests in Sydney underscores the “very real and growing risks of transnational repression affecting people in Australia – including international students”.

The University of Sydney student went missing in December 2024 after returning to China, and was allegedly charged with secession and sentenced to six years’ jail for joining events including two solidarity protests for China’s ethnic minorities.

Commissioner Lorraine Finlay told Guardian Australia that while she could not comment on the circumstances of individual cases “no one should fear punishment abroad for exercising their lawful rights to free expression and peaceful protest here”. Finlay also called on the Albanese government to introduce a dedicated parliamentary inquiry into transnational repression to understand the scope of the problem, in order to send a clear message about the government’s commitment to protecting democratic freedoms in Australia.

Grace Street, the president of the University of Sydney’s student representative council, has criticised the university and the Australian government for “sorely failing in their duty of care for students, both past and present”, stating that the university refusing to comment on the matter means that all students suffer and are implicitly told that the university will not support their freedoms and rights to protest against injustice in this country, making international students vulnerable and exploited.

Chinese international student activists have also expressed concerns over their safety after the case. Many Chinese students told Guardian Australia that in China, protest as a form of free speech is often subject to heavy surveillance from authorities, regardless of its nature. Most said that they had been “mentally prepared” for retribution, even if the agenda of the protests they attended was not directly critical of China. Some students also had pointed out that it takes a lot of risks for a Chinese national to participate in [protests] and the Chinese Australian community has conflicted views around China, and this case proves that the Australian government should offer more support to those who are brave to stand up and speak against an authoritarian government.

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Government plans crackdown on social media algorithms

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Labor’s plan to crack down on social media algorithms faces significant opposition in federal parliament, with opposition leader Angus Taylor warning against efforts by the government to “censor” free speech online.

Communications minister Anika Wells is expected to release draft legislation creating a digital duty of care for social media users in Australia as parliament returns this week. Among new rules being considered are functions requiring popular social media platforms to allow users to turn off algorithms controlling the content in their feeds, and to better identify problematic or illegal content to protect vulnerable users including children.

Labor said they want to better protect social media users from being fed content that reinforces dangerous stereotypes and behaviours, including in areas around body image, women’s safety and child protection. Opt-out options for algorithms would give users the choice to make their social media feeds only feature content from friends and groups they choose to follow.

Fines of more than $100m would be created for breaches, with new powers given to the eSafety commissioner and researchers to investigate compliance by big platforms. Prime minister Albanese is expected to spruik the plan at the United Nations general assembly in New York later this month.

But Taylor told News24 on Sunday the government should focus on fixing problems with its under 16s social media ban before taking on new rules like the digital duty of care. The shadow home affairs minister, the outgoing Liberal senator Jonno Duniam, likened the government’s plans to dumped anti-misinformation legislation introduced during Labor’s first term in government, stating that it is going to impede on people’s rights and freedoms.

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AI and virtual interpreters providing on-demand Auslan services in regional areas to replace in-person ones

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In an attempt to fill the void, virtual services of Australia sign language interpreters, apps and artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly being used to bring translation services to regions that struggled to find them in the past.

But the move is having an unintended side effect, as the few registered Auslan interpreters living and working in regional areas say they are suddenly finding themselves out of work.

Live captioning is a form of AI software that records and writes out spoken conversations in real time to help users with hearing impairments access these conversations. It does not include translating responses from Auslan to spoken language, which is why captioning is not always appropriate.

Virtual interpreters can work remotely, appearing on a screen to translate what they hear via a live feed, and often working at a lower cost than in-person translators. Many interpreters said having options was good, but the effect on interpreters was not.

One interpreter said the demand [for in-person Auslan interpreters] has always been there, and especially for rural and regional people, but she said agencies were unwilling to pay travel costs and were reluctant to prioritise in-person interpreters over virtual ones.

Many organizations focusing on helping the hearing impaired also explained that not all interpreting jobs are suitable online, and If a customer’s first preference is an in-person interpreter then they will do everything possible to provide one.

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One Nation pushes for early super access for Australians paying rent or mortgage

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Australians with a mortgage or paying rent would be given a choice to divert a portion of their superannuation to their take-home pay for up to three years under a One Nation proposal.

Under the policy, the full 12 per cent compulsory super contribution would still be paid by employers, but 3 per cent would be paid directly to a person by the super fund if they opt in. The payments would also remain subject to the concessional tax rate of 15 per cent, rather than the higher personal income tax rate.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said the average full-time worker earning about $90,500 would get an extra $2,300 in their pocket each year. That works out to about $44 a week, which Hanson said would provide “breathing room”.

Health Minister Mark Butler said changing those settings would be an “absolutely terrible plan” and pointed to the Morrison government’s experiment with allowing people to access more of their super during the COVID pandemic.

But Deputy Liberal leader Jane Hume dismissed the proposal as nothing more than a “headline” and said One Nation had questions to answer about how the policy would interact with a person’s super balance or their concessional caps. Nationals MP David Littleproud also said there was a serious risk of “unintended consequences” of the proposal, including the potential for higher inflation.

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