{
  "id": 18413630,
  "title": "Australian democracy is under attack",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/australian-democracy-is-under-attack",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-06T01:00:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MacroBusiness",
    "slug": "macrobusiness",
    "url": "https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2026/11/australian-democracy-is-under-attack/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In September, it was reported that the secretaries' board, comprising all federal department heads, was advocating for new regulations to prevent the dissemination of public testimony on social media platforms. This request seemed to stem from the recent actions of Celia Perkins, the Deputy Secretary of Security and Estate at the Department of Defence. Perkins had opened a public Senate committee hearing by delivering a prepared statement aimed at prohibiting the reposting of Defence evidence on social media and the use of Defence officials' likenesses outside the formal parliamentary setting. She stated, \"For the record, the Defence witnesses appearing before the committee today are pleased to take your questions. But they do not consent to the reposting of our evidence to social media sites or the reproduction of our likenesses for the purposes outside the framework of the Parliament and the transparent public proceedings of this committee.\" The complete text of this article is accessible to MacroBusiness subscribers.",
  "summary": "In September, we learned that the secretaries’ board, which includes all federal department heads, was pushing for new rules to stop sharing public testimony on social media because it could expose officials to ridicule, hostility, or abuse. The board’s request appeared to be in response to the recent actions of Celia Perkins, Deputy Secretary of The post Australian democracy is under attack…",
  "key_points": [
    "Australian government seeks new regulations to curb social media use of public testimony.",
    "Deputy Secretary Celia Perkins opposes reposting Defence evidence on social media.",
    "Restrictions target use of Defence officials likenesses outside formal parliamentary settings."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}