According to Asher Moses in today’s Sydney Morning Herald, the Rudd Government’s plans to censor the world wide web for Australians will hit a wall in the Senate. In Web censorship plan heads towards a dead end, he writes:
The Opposition’s communications spokesman Nick Minchin has this week obtained independent legal advice saying that if the Government is to pursue a mandatory filtering regime “legislation of some sort will almost certainly be required”.
Senator Nick Xenophon previously indicated he may support a filter that blocks online gambling websites but in a phone interview today he withdrew all support, saying “the more evidence that’s come out, the more questions there are on this”
As long as the Liberals, Nationals and Greens remain solid in their opposition any legislation introduced by the Government would fail in the Senate. Xenothon’s vote provides a welcome extra buffer. But the crucial part of this story is Nick Minchin’s legal advice. If this is correct, without new legislation the censorship proposal cannot be implemented.
Stephen Conroy: find him another job!
This is encouraging – but a lot of ifs and buts remain. As Mike Meloni wisely points out on Somebody Think of the Children: “until The Government drops it or it’s been voted out, Internet censorship is [still] planned for Australia.”
Given the damage this issue has already done to his government’s credibility, Mr Rudd should step in now and kill off this widely-reviled censorship scheme.
A cabinet reshuffle would help freshen up the government. How about a new Communications Minister who commands confidence?
It is possible. of course, that Mr Rudd will take the exact opposite approach and use this issue as a trigger for a double dissolution election.
That would be outright lunacy – but not much different from what we’re coming to expect from this government, which is in danger of becoming a sad disappointment. The Rudd Government needs to drop silly, distracting battles like Internet censorship and get on with the main game.
I remember pre-election promises of a major new continent-wide broadband rollout. That was a policy of which many Australians were conscious at the last Federal election. It was a big vote winner for the Labor Party.
Where is it?
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