> I'd rather not have the Australian parliament forming an opinion on the order of my search results.

It's sad to hear such opinions about trusting "corporates more than democracy" ...

Given Australian parliaments opinion on encryption and environmental issues I think he's right to not trust them on this....

Then who should they trust? Once people start losing faith in democracy then it's a very slippery slope - everyone needs reminding that democracy isn't just voting, it's your right to speak, organise and protest for change.

Nothing makes me lose faith in democracy faster than when eligible voters uncritically defend government as better than "corporates" because who else should we trust? This only reminds me that democracy isn't about trusting the government, it's about holding the government to account and refusing to give them unearned trust when they do stupid shit like this.

When it comes trusting corporates vs government the choice is actually quite clear - if they have faith in democracy then they know the government is accountable to them, then obviously they can only trust them more. You are right though that a healthy distrust of the government in power is essential for a healthy democracy.

Spot on. We have a direct ability to not just vote but also run for office in Australia. Even if you live in a safe electorate your senate vote certainly matters. Australian governance isn't perfect but it basically works, and Australia objecitvely has succeeded as a result, even when compared against nations with similar contexts e.g. Argentina.

Foreign-owned corporations are in no way subject to Australian citizens other than commercial motives. I don't blame them for that, but I support my government's desires to regular them on my behalf.