[plug] Alston Speaks (with [link]).

[Leon Brooks]

I think my yobbo detector just pinged off again on this line, dismissing the 
rapid uptake of broadband in Korea vs Australia:

    I think it is probably true to say ... that if you've been to Korea
    a few times, there isn't a great deal to do [... and later on...]
    It's difficult for us to assume [weasel words!] that somehow Telstra
    is acting maliciously [or simply selfishly] when you have outages. If
    you found that the rest of the world wasn't having problems but
    Telstra was, then you might be a bit suspicious. But I don't think
    we're the only country that's had service level problems. I think
    Telstra has lifted its game in recent times.

Of course, Telstra has _nothing_ to do with us lagging behind, _do_ they...? 
(-:

    There was a time when Electronic Frontiers were running around
    lampooning all that we ever tried to do. I think the Council of
    Civil Liberties in the US came out and said we were village idiots.

Mmmmf.

    [ZD] I understand that the Government will soon announce some anti
    cyber-terrorism measures. Can you elaborate on what these measures
    will include? 

    [RA] No I can't. 

Mmmmm.

    [ZD] Just as it has banned Australian-hosted pornographic content
    on the Internet, would the Government consider extending the ban to
    religious extremist groups' Web sites or known terrorist Web sites? 

    [RA] Well the current regime caters for the possibility of these
    things being regarded as highly offensive, I mean if they're
    criminal then they qualify automatically [oops, er, what question?]
    - it's really then a complaints-driven regime. If someone wants to
    say that a particular Web site is offensive or illegal, they bring
    it to the attention of the ABA and things start to happen. I think
    we'd be reluctant to go down the path of trying to introduce some
    specific regime for racial intolerance, simply because things vary
    so much depending on the individual content. 

Translation: I won't say `yes', just leave a big yes-shaped hole in the 
conversation and pre-blame anything that happens on individual whingers. I 
wonder what qualifies you as a `religious extremist' or `known terrorist'? In 
the USA, apparently possession of a copy of DivX will do it.

    No IT company or senior executive has ever raised that issue.

Whoo! `When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die.' -- Jean-Paul Sartre

    Someone did come to see me - Sean Howard, who used to be at OzEmail
    - he had some simple spam solution. It looks as though it's going
    to involve the market which is probably the way it ought to be. 

Anybody know Sean?

    [ZD] You've personally attracted quite a bit of criticism
    throughout your tenure in the IT portfolio, with some suggesting
    that you don't truly understand technology and the benefits it
    can provide to business and individuals. What is your response to
    those critics? 

    [RA] It's very hard to respond to general statements. If anyone
    can point to specific areas of policy where it can be demonstrated
    there is a better approach, we'd be more than happy to follow it.

QED? (-:

Two parts:
http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/communications/story/0,2000024993,20270255,00.htm
http://www.zdnet.com.au/newstech/communications/story/0,2000024993,20270262,00.htm

Cheers; Leon