Donna Benjamin
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kattekrab.bsky.social
Donna Benjamin
@kattekrab.bsky.social
Chair https://oaf.org.au
Maintainer https://openpracticelibrary.com
Co-Chair https://EverythingOpen.AU session selection committee
Senior Engagement Lead https://RedHat.com
Executive Director https://cc.com.au
Blog https://kattekrab.net
Reposted by Donna Benjamin
The Govt should be introducing legislation to provide more transparency, not less.

Their proposed changes to FOI are deeply troubling, though not surprising given in the last parliament they were the 2nd most secretive in 30 years.

That needs to change.
www.canberratimes.com.au/story/907156...
Australia's FOI system is broken, but proposed reforms miss the mark
This proposed bill risks doubling down on the very problems it should be fixing.
www.canberratimes.com.au
September 24, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Do you care about your #RightToKnow and Freedom of Information? Do you know there's currently a bill before the Australian Parliament?

Do you have lived experience with the #FOI system?

Consider sharing your perspective?

www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...

@oaf.org.au @asherwolf.bsky.social
Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025
Committee: Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee Date referred: 4 September 2025 Submissions close: 1 October 2025 Reporting date: 3 December 2025 On 4 September 2025, the Senate...
www.aph.gov.au
September 25, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Reposted by Donna Benjamin
👉 Is your data taking an unplanned leave?
👉 Are your cloud hosts all controlled from differing legal jurisdictions?
👉 These are questions of #dataSovereignty.

⏰ Come and share with us at #EverythingOpen Canberra 2026. #CFP 21 Sep 2025!

2026.everythingopen.au/programme/pr...

#EO2026
#conference
September 14, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Reposted by Donna Benjamin
✨ Are you in Australia and do you like being able to see the sky at night?

The Australasian Dark Sky Alliance have submitted a petition to request parliament introduce legislation to control light pollution.

The petition is at www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/...
e-petitions
e-petitions
www.aph.gov.au
September 14, 2025 at 11:20 PM
Reposted by Donna Benjamin
#FOI costs have doubled over the past decade, not because of more requests, but because the Govt’s culture of secrecy scares sole decision making. Every man, woman & dog in Govt is consulted just in case someone might object to disclosure.

#MountainsOutOfMolehills #YouPay #auspol
September 14, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Hello #PyConAU folk! 👋

Please take note, here's a little PSA - the call for sessions for @everythingopen.au is open until 21 Sept - and will take place in Canberra 21-23 Jan 2026

Thank you @linuxaustralia.bsky.social for auspicing awesome events for our community!

also to plz booost!? kthxbai
September 12, 2025 at 11:56 PM
This podcast from the @australiainstitute.org.au about the FOI bill is excellent.
#RightToKnow
@oaf.org.au
Earlier this week I spoke with the @australiainstitute.org.au about the ‘NO right to know’ Bill that @albomp.bsky.social’s Govt has introduced into the Federal Parliament. Have a listen to the very disturbing nature of the proposed #FOI Act changes. #auspol
No right to know?
The government’s proposed changes to freedom of information laws represent a “serious attack” on Australia’s democracy, according to former Senator Rex Patrick.
australiainstitute.org.au
September 12, 2025 at 11:12 PM
Reposted by Donna Benjamin
This is one of the benefits we promote with righttoknow.org.au.

We also proactively work with agencies to deal with problematic requests, while fiercely advocating for disclosure.
Make and browse Freedom of Information (FOI) requests
righttoknow.org.au
September 9, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Reposted by Donna Benjamin
Hey aussies. I think you should make a lot of noise about this

The FOI Amendment Bill 2025 will give government new ways to refuse FOI requests, and also introduce a fee for making the request.

👉 www.oaf.org.au/2025/09/08/2...

#RightToKnow #FOI #auspol
“Strengthening” FOI or sabotaging It? Why we oppose the FOI Amendment Bill 2025
www.oaf.org.au
September 8, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Reposted by Donna Benjamin
The FOI Amendment Bill 2025 makes it harder to hold govt to account: bans anonymous requests, adds a “transparency tax” fee, and expands secrecy. Parliament must reject it.

👉 www.oaf.org.au/2025/09/08/2...

#RightToKnow #FOI #auspol
“Strengthening” FOI or sabotaging It? Why we oppose the FOI Amendment Bill 2025
The Albanese Government has introduced the Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025, presented as a reform to “strengthen” the FOI framework. According to the Attorney-General’s press release, the…
www.oaf.org.au
September 8, 2025 at 6:41 AM
Reposted by Donna Benjamin
Nice to hear @andrewwilkiemp.bsky.social defending Freedom of Information and calling for a common sense approach that doesn't lock people out of FOI with fees on ABC Radio this morning
September 2, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Reposted by Donna Benjamin
Official trailer for SBS' soon to be released docu-drama 'The People vs. Robodebt' featuring Jenny Miller, Deanna Amato and many others.

www.sbs.com.au/aboutus/2025...
August 20, 2025 at 5:09 AM
Unfortunately electionleaflets.org.au is down.

It does sort of still exist in the Trove Pandora archive: webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20100723...

But it's clunky.

It's not been active for many many years. So, is this something you lot care about? Or should we just allow to sunset?
electionleaflets.org.au
August 8, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Huzzah!
Everything Open is heading to the University of Canberra 21-23 January 2026 Call for sessions and sponsors is out now!

2026.everythingopen.au

Help us get the conversation started!

#EverythingOpen

@linuxaustralia.bsky.social
@everythingopen.au
Everything Open 2026 | Canberra, Australia
2026.everythingopen.au
August 1, 2025 at 12:51 AM
@ashthelibrarian.bsky.social Call for sessions is out for 2026.everythingopen.au - would love to see a full track for all things #OpenEducation :)
Everything Open 2026 | Canberra, Australia
2026.everythingopen.au
August 1, 2025 at 12:40 AM
Just Start! Prevent analysis paralysis and get your mission moving. Yes, even the wrong direction is better than sitting still. #Agility and #OpenInnovation with #RedHat
April 10, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Reposted by Donna Benjamin
For last Saturday’s show, it was International Women’s Day, where the official hashtag was #AccellerateAction. Great conversation with @kattekrab.bsky.social, Miranda and Tamzyn on from many angles of IWD and what it means for the tech industry. Check out the podcast: joy.org.au/technogaze/2...
International Women's Day - women in technology
Getting together to celebrate International Women’s Day, we had guests Donna, Tamzyn, and Miranda, offering their perspectives on the lived experiences of women working and consuming technology. We co...
joy.org.au
March 12, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Reposted by Donna Benjamin
We're delighted to present our 2025 Annual Report, ahead of our #AGM at @everythingopen.au in Tarndanya/Adelaide next week.

Read about the many events we've auspiced this year - including #PyConAU #DrupalSouth, #WordCamp Sydney, #DrupalCon Asia and #PurpleCon.

linux.org.au/about-us/ann...
January 15, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Reposted by Donna Benjamin
Everything Open 2025 would not be possible without our sponsors.

Auspice sponsor: Linux Australia. Visit: linux.org.au

Program: 2025.everythingopen.au/schedule/
Tickets: 2025.everythingopen.au/attend/ticke...

#EO2025 #EverythingOpen #conference #openSource @linuxaustralia.bsky.social
January 15, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Reposted by Donna Benjamin
If you plan to participate in this tutorial, you should install siril and download the image data that I have linked from the session page. It is 4GB of data and you will not be able to fetch it at the conference.

It would also be helpful if your laptop had an SSD with at least 30GB of free space.
Everything Open 2025 program is now published.

Workshop “Using siril to see the invisible” by Peter Lieverdink

Program: 2025.everythingopen.au/schedule/
Tickets: 2025.everythingopen.au/attend/ticke...

#EO2025 #EverythingOpen #conference #openSource
January 9, 2025 at 1:00 AM