The Big Heist - Securing Australia

CI-ISAC operates as a Not for Profit (NFP) with membership fees directly invested in building intelligence-sharing capabilities and promoting member sharing. Central capabilities will be brought online to support members, with the aim of having multiple ‘turnkey’ capabilities available to assist resource-constrained members.

Member driven, member participation and sharing to drive cyber resilience is the key measure of success for CI-ISAC, supported by both central teams and sector intelligence-sharing champions who help guide the ISAC's growth and direction.

Geoscape Australia is delivering location intelligence to enable positive outcomes across the economy, to help build a smarter and more productive Australia. Geoscape Australia is the trading name of PSMA Australia limited a self-funded public company owned by the 9 governments of Australia.

Rupert Taylor-Price, Director, Vault Cloud's long-term strategy in collaboration with key stakeholders. "We have recently renamed our tag line as Australia's National Cloud, we have sort of moved to what Qantas is to aviation, what Telstra is to communication." he said

Vault Cloud Board of Directors

MA Moelis Australia is MA Financial Group’s Corporate Advisory and Equities division.

Since 2009, the team has advised on over $100 billion worth of transactions, including SABMiller’s acquisition of Fosters, the spin-off of Woolworths’ property business into SCA, and the restructure of Billabong and Channel 9. The team has also acted as Financial Adviser to Speedcast in its $1.2bn debt restructuring and to Stockland in its $620m acquisition of Halcyon Group. The team also led the recapitalisation and reconstruction of Slater and Gordon and advised on the sale of the Ten Network to CBS.

Private members’ associations can have significant implications for democracy, both positive and negative, depending on their function, transparency, and the influence they exert. Here’s an outline of how they can affect democratic processes:

1. Influence on Policymaking

• Private members' associations can lobby on behalf of specific interests, potentially shaping policies in ways that benefit their members but may not align with the public interest.

• If such associations operate without transparency, they may facilitate “behind-the-scenes” influence, resulting in policies that might not reflect the electorate’s will but serve special interest groups.

2. Political Financing and Campaigning

• These associations sometimes serve as channels for political donations and campaign support, enabling certain groups or individuals to exert disproportionate influence on candidates or parties.

• In democracies with weak campaign finance regulations, this can skew electoral fairness and empower wealthy members or groups over average citizens.

3. Transparency and Accountability Concerns

• The lack of transparency regarding membership, finances, or decision-making processes can be problematic if these associations gain too much influence without public scrutiny.

• When private associations operate in secrecy, it challenges accountability and can lead to an erosion of trust in democratic institutions, as the public may perceive that decisions are made in favor of private interests rather than the collective good.

4. Potential for Unequal Representation

• If certain associations hold more power or have privileged access to policymakers, it can create inequality in political influence, where only the voices of well-funded groups are heard.

• This imbalance can create a democratic deficit, where the priorities of wealthier or more organized factions overshadow those of the general populace, undermining the principle of equal representation.

5. Encouraging Specialised Policy Knowledge

• Private members' associations sometimes provide specialised knowledge to government officials, which can improve policymaking by informing it with expertise in particular fields.

• This expertise can lead to better-informed policies, but only if balanced with input from a diverse range of sources to avoid policy capture by a single interest.

  
  

In essence, private members’ associations threaten democracy, they lack transparency, promote inequality in political influence, and enable policy to be captured by special interests. Striking a balance with clear regulations on lobbying, transparency, and campaign finance is crucial for maintaining democratic integrity.

After Marcel came to Tasmania, I have been investigating his product and services, My Place has adopted a PMA structure, find out more here: The KoGCoN.