The Federal Government will abandon its push for new powers to release the personal information of veterans should it wish to correct deliberately misleading public statements.
The ABC revealed concerns about the legislation earlier this month with sections of the veteran community fearing it was designed to silence public criticism.
The proposal was wrapped into a larger Digital Readiness Bill aimed at improving veteran services and will now be dropped to secure passage through the Senate.
The powers would have given the department secretary the ability to disclose otherwise protected information about veterans provided they obtained a public interest certificate.
I’m pleased about that , As I feel it was almost black mail, in a Country where, freedom of speech, is allowed