Speech by Karen Curtis, Privacy Commissioner, at the gala presentation dinner of the inaugural Australian Privacy Awards and Medal, Amora Jamison Hotel Sydney, 27 August 2008.

Senator Faulkner, ladies and gentlemen

Firstly may I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we meet on - the Gadigal people of the Eora nation - and I pay my respects to their elders past and present.

On quite a few occasions, when I meet someone in a social setting and they find out that I am the Privacy Commissioner, they jokingly respond, "I guess as the Privacy Commissioner you can't tell me what you do - that would be private ".

I either say depending on my frame of mind - sarcastic or polite - "Wow - I've never heard that before!" or I join in the laughter, pretending that it is the first time I've heard the joke.

This type of joke was also the theme of a cartoon that appeared in the Australian Financial Review after the launch of the Privacy Awards by Senator Faulkner in April.

We have reproduced the cartoon in the back of tonight's program.  The program booklets are on your table.

You'll see that it has people walking out saying - "great night - what a pity they couldn't tell us who the winners were!"

I'm delighted that the Fin Review published it and the accompanying article. After all, it's the Australian way to poke the gentlest of fun at important things and why should the Privacy Awards be an exception to that great Australian tradition.

However, I want to assure you that you won't be going away tonight without knowing who the winners of the Awards are!

In fact, tonight, and the Awards program as a whole, are aimed at telling everyone as much about privacy as we possibly can!

It's really a public celebration of privacy - shout it from the rooftops.  A contradiction in terms you may think.

But not necessarily so.   Through the Awards we want you - and the community - to find out about what "privacy" - especially good privacy - really means.

The Awards are a chance to demonstrate what privacy means in practice, and what some have done in applying  first class systems and processes to the way they handle personal information.

So tonight we want you to leave knowing that it is possible to achieve first-rate privacy in your organisation.

By this I mean meeting and in some cases exceeding the requirements of the Privacy Principles, as well as developing an environment in which privacy is embedded - is part and parcel - of your organisation's modus operandi.

Mind you, many of you here tonight are privacy professionals and have nominated for the Awards, and you probably don't need the Awards to tell you about good privacy.

However, the Awards also offer many practical models of a diverse range of privacy-related projects, systems and campaigns.

There are always new approaches being developed by organisations to privacy protection, and there is undoubtedly something that every one of us can learn.

Indeed we will be producing case studies from the many excellent entries we received.

So, the message of the Awards hopefully will reach those who are not here tonight and who have yet to begin the privacy journey.

There are new players entering the marketplace all the time, as well as existing organisations with new products, new projects, and new marketing endeavours.

The Awards can assist in showing these organisations that privacy is not solely a legal responsibility, but also good business practice that can add to the level of trust developed with one's customers and build brand advantage.

Tonight we will also be presenting the Australian Privacy Medal to an individual who has shown an outstanding level of achievement in the privacy field.  While it may be a big ask to measure up to the Medal winner's accomplishments, there is much that everyone can do to promote good privacy and to exercise your privacy rights.

Therefore, our aim tonight is to prove our friendly cartoonist wrong!

After you leave tonight, please help us to spread the word to your networks, staff, colleagues and friends that good privacy practices are something that everyone should know about!  And as individuals what we should expect, and indeed even demand, of those with whom we deal.

So spread the word - not personal information - just the word!

Tonight is also an opportunity to reflect upon 20 years of the Privacy Act.

In 1988 laws were passed for the handling of personal information by government agencies.   The Act was amended to widen its coverage, most significantly, to credit reporting agencies and credit providers in 1990 and the private sector in 2001.

Over the past 20 years, the Act and those administering it have managed to strike the right balance between protecting the privacy of Australians while not being overly burdensome to those with obligations - business and government.

But while we celebrate we should also be aware of the challenges that the information and digital age poses for privacy.   With new technologies, globalised information flows, increased public surveillance and heightened national security, our personal information continues to be precious and warranting protection. 

A few weeks' ago, the report of the Australian Law Reform Commission's review of privacy law was released. The review presents a once in a generation opportunity to influence the shape of privacy law in Australia.  My Office looks forward to working with the Government to develop a framework for privacy that will serve us for the next 20 years and beyond.

Tonight is also significant as the highlight of my Office's Privacy Awareness Week program of events. From humble beginnings, three years ago, Privacy Awareness Week has grown into an international celebration - Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Korea and Canada - presenting an opportunity for the promotion of privacy responsibilities and rights.

I want to acknowledge the organisations without which the Awards, the Medal and tonight's event would not be possible. They are the four sponsors, who have provided support to allow us to promote this inaugural program on such a grand scale and to host tonight's dinner.

Our major sponsors are Symantec and Microsoft. Symantec has sponsored the Government Award and Microsoft the Small-Medium Business Award. Our Executive Sponsor is Clayton Utz. Our fourth sponsor is the Australian Finance Conference.

These organisations represent a cross-section of Australian industry.

Symantec is a leader in the security, storage and systems management field.

Microsoft is a major player in the information technology area.

Clayton Utz is one of Australia's leading law firms.

And the Australian Finance Conference is the representative body for the finance industry.

All of them have shown leadership in the privacy compliance and advice field and I thank them for their support.   

I would also like to thank the judges of the Awards and Medal. They are Craig Scroggie, the Vice President and Managing Director of Symantec in the Pacific region, Associate Professor John O'Brien, University of NSW, and Joan Sheedy, Assistant Secretary, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Both Joan and John are also members of the Privacy Advisory Committee.

I also want to mention my fellow Privacy Commissioners, Assistants and Deputies, past and present including those from the states and territories.  Thank you for the good work you have done and continue to do. 

I draw your attention to two of my predecessors - Kevin O'Connor and Malcolm Crompton.  My Office continues to build on their legacies.

At the risk of sounding like a bad acceptance speech at the Academy Awards - read Gwenneth Paltrow or Sally Field - it would be remiss of me if I did not acknowledge my staff.  There are many across my Office who have contributed to PAW and to the Awards, particularly from my Corporate and Public Affairs area.

But I make special mention of Andrew Solomon, Elise Bates, Claudia Hood and Suzanne Christian (for the video).  Finally, my event organiser and awards organiser is Ben Apple and I am very grateful to him for his exceptional efforts to make the award program a success.

I hope you enjoy the evening; our welcome is warm and heartfelt.  

While many of you here tonight have played important roles in enhancing Australians' privacy protections, unfortunately, one of the major figures behind Australia's privacy regulatory framework, was not able to be here.

I am of course referring to Justice Michael Kirby. However, Justice Kirby has kindly recorded a video message for us.

Currently a judge on the High Court - whose responsibilities require him to be in Canberra this evening - Justice Kirby has also served as President of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, a Deputy President of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, as Chairperson of the Australian Law Reform Commission, and as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia.

As chair of the OECD Expert Group on the Protection of Privacy, Justice Kirby led the development of the 1980 OECD Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and the Transborder Flows of Personal Data. These Guidelines became the model of privacy laws for many countries, including the Australian Privacy Act.

In his capacity as chair of the ALRC, he completed two reports on privacy, which together with the OECD Guidelines, were critical to the formation of the Australian Privacy Act.

Justice Kirby also chaired another OECD Expert Group whose work produced the 1992 OECD Guidelines for the Security of Information Systems.

Justice Kirby.

Tonight we have the honour of having as our keynote speaker Senator the Hon John Faulkner.

In December 2007, Senator Faulkner was appointed Special Minister of State, Cabinet Secretary and Vice-President of the Executive Council.  

Amongst other responsibilities, Senator Faulkner is the Minister charged with oversight of privacy policy.

The Minister has held many roles since becoming a Senator for New South Wales in 1989.

His other ministerial roles have included: Veterans' Affairs; Defence Science and Personnel; the Environment, Sport, and Territories.

He was Manager of Government Business in the Senate for three years, and he has served as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate.

He held a number of shadow portfolios, including: Special Minister of State, Social Security, Home Affairs, Territories, Public Administration and Government Services, Olympic Coordination and the Centenary of Federation.

There's not much he doesn't know and hasn't done. 

I know we are in for a treat tonight.

Please join me in welcoming Senator Faulkner.