Internet filtering: this I expected more of the previous Australian government, under the antiquated stewardship of former Prime Minister John Howard, rather than the apparently contemporary, tech-savvy, administration of Kevin Rudd.
But this is politics and the Australian people apparently need to be protected from themselves so clean feeds, or “filtering”, it is…
The Australian Federal Government is pushing forward with a plan to force Internet Service Providers [ISPs] to censor the Internet for all Australians. This plan will waste tens of millions of taxpayer dollars and slow down Internet access. Despite being almost universally condemned by the public, ISPs, State Governments, Media and censorship experts, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is determined to force this filter into your home.
Stephen Conroy, the Australian Communications Minister, puts his case for filtering. He talks about a consultative process, but appears willing only to consult with ISPs. That’s not exactly a representative cross section of the community.
Within the first month Conroy was in his portfolio I spoke with his staff and it was obvious then that it was going to be full speed ahead and d*mn the electorate.
The only way the decision to impose national mandatory ISP-level Internet filtering is going to be reversed is if Rudd’s opinion poll numbers start to go backwards.
Well the policy was apparently part of Labor’s election manifesto, it was just kept very quiet, so I guess we can’t say we weren’t warned. But you’re right it’ll probably take a drastic slump in the polls before anyone decides to “listen” to the protest.
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