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A thread on the death of @peter_tonoli:
I’ve struggled greatly with whether or not to share this information because Peter was intensely private person. I have wanted to protect the privacy of Peter, myself, and *mostly importantly* my children.
That said I believe that if some good from Peter’s death, then maybe it will help the kids and I find solace.
Peter took his own life. His was the death of a confluence of circumstances. He was a victim of feeling helpless and worthless.
Peter took his own life. His was the death of a confluence of circumstances. He was a victim of feeling helpless and worthless.
Feeling undervalued and tired of the struggle. He often felt like he had no impact or cut-through, and above all he felt he was failing to make a difference in a society that needs people to raise their voices.
At the outset, let me state this was definitely not through the fault of any individual, movement, or particular organisation—although his employer bears a great deal of responsibility. I am not interested in finger pointing—we will ever know his thoughts on that particular day.
As so many people have acknowledged, Peter was a massive contributor to Australian civil society. He worked tirelessly for digital rights, cyber security, privacy protection, and the civic duty our family feels to hold the government to account and uphold the value of democracy.
Over the years, this resulted in Peter being a somewhat absent father and husband. His passion and drive saw him spend hours, days, and sometimes, weeks in his study, at his computer, trying to make a difference—to motivate change.
Much of this work was appreciated greatly by the digital community, but the most heartbreaking fact of his death is that he will never know this. #MentalHealthMatters
If you read this, please reach out to @EFA_OZ @APF_OZ @BPfreespeech and @auDA @ok_lyndsey @jpwarren @ms_mary_mac @Katinamichael @z3ndrag0n @VTeagueAU @chrisculnane @SueletteD @Asher_Wolf @SimonWolfe (and the countless others I don’t have space to mention) & tell them they matter.
Tell them they are making a difference, to thank them for their tireless efforts and time away from their children to protect your rights.
Together with his various civic roles, Peter persevered in the public (University) sector and working for NFPs because he recognised the need for skilled technologists to provide further support to the academic and NFP sectors.
Peter co-authored journal articles, trained journalists in digital source protection, and created platforms to make vital public archives accessible.
Sadly, Peter’s dept lost funding & needed to find a new source. They're now being absorbed by another dept within the Uni. But, at the time of his death, his (& most of his co-workers') employment future was under threat—it was 18months of uncertainty & financial insecurity.
The change management process was appalling & many of his co-workers were on stress leave or had breakdowns & left altogether. Evidently, he is not the only victim of this gross mismanagement & I fear he won't be the last.
I could talk about Peter all day, but I won’t. Suffice to say, tell people you love them. Tell them they are important and appreciated, tell them you couldn’t live without the work that they do, domestically, civically, professionally, as a human being.
Show them they’re valued & valuable to you & the world around them. Above all, engage with to civil society, raise your voice, demand great governmental accountability & transparency, get involved, & make a difference. #suicide #digitalrights #privacy #cybersecurity #surveillance
