| JOHNSON SLAMS FEDERAL LABOR’S ISP FILTERING AS STATE CENSORSHIP AND GOVERNMENT CONTROL BY STEALTH! | Email this page | | Back |  { NO TO MEDIA CENSORSHIP BY GOVERNMENTS - TARGET 10,000 SUPPORTERS http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=223466559704&v=info
Federal Member for Ryan Michael Johnson MP again condemned the Labor Governments ISP Filtering policy for its anti-freedom and anti-democratic nature that has no place in an open and liberal Nation such as Australia.
“I strongly condemn Federal Labor’s ISP Filtering because it is government censorship at its heart, dressed up as a family friendly policy to protect our children against access to inappropriate internet material,” Mr Johnson said.
“As a father myself, the protection of my son from the “dark side” of the internet is at the forefront of my responsibilities as a parent and any genuine policy that actually makes a difference would be welcome by all parents.”
“However, this Labor Government’s policy is neither policy genuine nor does it make a real difference. It is in short state censorship and a means by which the national government can intrude and control the private actions of Australian citizens who are breaking no law.”
“We are an open democracy and a country that cherishes liberal thought and freedom of speech, which the internet represents.”
“The frightening question is where will Rudd’s state censorship and government intrusion into the privacy of our lives end? We have seen Mr Rudd try to make homebirths illegal and take away the right of women to choose the place of giving birth and recently attempted reprehensible muzzling of Opposition Members of Parliament from criticizing the Federal Government.”
“The arguments against Labor’s ISP filtering censorship plan are compelling. I believe there are many arguments to support my position:
1. The ISP filter will provide a false sense of security. Antivirus is a prime example – as much protection as we load onto our computers and networks we access, there are always new viruses, worms and trojans gaining access and creating havoc.
2. The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) already has the responsibility for issuing take-down notices for black-listed content hosted in Australia. This Service Provider Responsibility List can be accessed at:
http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_90157
3. There are already tools available for parents in commercial form which are just as foolproof as this ISP filtering plan, but don’t equate to censorship. These come in the forms of personal internet filters, parental control software and remote monitoring.
4. Parents should be providing their children with the educational resources and know how to support the disciplinary responsibilities not only they, but their children, must be aware of when using the internet.
5. Even with the ISP filtering plan in action, it will not protect your child from online chat rooms, peer to peer connections or emails.
“Protecting children must always be uppermost in our decisions, but an attack on the individual liberty of everyday Australians using the internet is not the best way to protect our children. There is no substitute for parental responsibility at home or adult supervision of children at community libraries and in the classroom.”
“Labor is always the party of intrusion in the lives of Australians. When Labor is in power, the instinct is to legislate and regulate everything in sight – and to be at the centre of people’s lives from cradle to grave.”
“Labor’s ISP filtering policy is, at its core, an erosion of the very freedom that the internet, for all its downsides, represents in a democratic society,” Mr Johnson said.
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