Brave Labor MP rejects Conroy's filter plan

By Ben Grubb on Dec 17, 2009 6:26 AM
Filed under Telco/ISP

Calls it a "diversion" from tackling broader issues.

NSW Labor MP Penny Sharpe has slammed her Federal colleagues' plan to censor the internet.

In a blog post, Sharpe said the announcement was "a backward step" that, if adopted, would be "a triumph of fear and false promise [over] good sense".

"I add my voice to the many that understand that the Federal Government's proposals to filter the Internet are a waste of time, a waste of money, a false promise to parents that will not stop kids being exposed to undesirable content online [and] a move towards censorship that a democratic and free nation like Australia should reject," she said.

Sharpe said the proposed filter created a "diversion" from tackling broader issues such as how the online environment was "rapidly changing social norms, expectations and behaviour".

While she conceded that protecting children from inappropriate material was an issue, Sharpe did not believe a mandatory filter was the answer.

"The solutions include the far more difficult, time consuming and gradual process of education for all citizens, especially parents and kids, greater policing and investigation, greater resourcing to support families and communities and continuous law reform in the areas of privacy and communications," she said.

"I urge the Federal Government to consider other options rather than this proposal."

Brave Labor MP rejects Conroy's filter plan

8 comments in this discussion

"On the contrary, Verity, it is a great pity that so many voters can't be bothered to understand the facts. The government is intent on spending a large amount of many on a filter that their own ..."

By 1Sam

Tags

labor mp, netfilter, censorship, isp, filtering, isp, labor, internet

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Comments: 8

anonymous Dec 17, 2009 8:13 AM	Thank god for Penny Sharpe, a politician with comms knowledge, intelligence and courage. Can we please have her as the Minister for Communications instead of the weak and scheming incumbent?
Verity Pravda Dec 17, 2009 9:38 AM	It is a great pity that politicians can't be bothered understanding the facts. The Minister's plan is only to impose the same Refused Classification on importing material via a website as already exists for a disc or a book. It is not "a move towards censorship". Meanwhile the first comment should note that Ms Sharpe is one of those wastes of space called an MLC in the NSW Parliament. She cannot be a Federal Minister from there and should act on long standing ALP policy to abolish the upper house in NSW.
Mitch Dec 17, 2009 10:27 AM	Good on you Penny for making a stand! The filter is one of the worst idea's yet...
aaron552 Dec 17, 2009 10:31 AM	Verity, you are right in one thing: It is not "a move towards censorship". It IS censorship. "Censorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the government or media organizations as determined by a censor." Penny is absolutely right to oppose something that is both an unnecessary limit of ordinary citizens' freedom of speech and a pointless waste of taxpayers' money that will do nothing to actually protect children on the web.
Mordd Dec 17, 2009 2:37 PM	Good on her for standing up against the Rudd/Conroy machine on this issue, we need more Labor MP's to speak out like this.
mikeyx11 Dec 17, 2009 5:13 PM	Dear Verity, Please educate yourself on the meaning of censorship before talking crap about something you clearly have no knowledge of whatsoever. If you want your freedoms to be suppressed, then by all means go and live in Iran and live your dream. You can not have knowledgeable debate about controversial issues when educational material on such things is impossible to access. This is where the internet comes in. Block it, and society will never move forward.
TruthSphere Dec 18, 2009 9:00 AM	What a true Aussie - +1 For Freedom
1Sam Dec 18, 2009 11:00 AM	On the contrary, Verity, it is a great pity that so many voters can't be bothered to understand the facts. The government is intent on spending a large amount of many on a filter that their own report admits is ineffective (in that it can be circumvented by anyone with the inclination), will slow down internet speeds 10% or more (only tested up to 8mbit, which raises serious doubts to its ability to function under the NBN), overblocks, doesn't work on high volume sites, and doesn't filter anything other than http (which means it is a FALSE sense of security as the bigger threats are from other sources). The black list will block access to legitimate sites bearing controversial information which is the very definition of censorship. And the ACL already wants to expand what will be filtered. Anyone who actually cares about the children's safety would agree with Penny that the solution is in Education, Policing, and community resourcing. This would be a much more effective focus for those millions of dollars. Let us hope more politicians understand the facts.