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Bret Busby

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  Calls to revoke Internet censorship laws
  By LAUREN AHWAN

  14aug99

  THE South Australian branch of the Liberal Party told Prime Minister John
Howard today to revoke his
  government's controversial Internet censorship legislation amid concern it was
unworkable. 

  The state council's annual general meeting held in Adelaide passed a motion by
the Young Liberals urging
  the federal government to revoke its legislation, saying censorship would
never be enforceable and
  would deter telecommunications investment. 

  The resolution caught Mr Howard by surprise, who told the meeting such a
motion defied "elementary
  logic". 

  Under the Broadcasting Services Amendment (Online Services) Bill, passed in
May, material rated X or
  refused classification (such as bombmaking instructions) were banned on the
Internet. 

  Material rated R was available only to Internet users aged over 18. 

  But Young Liberals delegate Craig Turner said technology would always be
available to evade censorship.

  "Already using US inscription methods you can find ways of logging onto these
sites (that the
  government has censored)," Mr Turner said. 

  "This legislation is unworkable and its set to do a great deal of damage to
the (Internet) industry without
  fixing the problems it was supposed to fix." 

  Instead of the legislation's broad-based method of censorship, the Young
Liberals proposed
  censorship software be compulsorily provided to Internet subscribes, allowing
individuals to decide
  whether to censor their home computer. 

  "Censorship of TV programs is like getting on a bus. You can get on a bus and
get off again when you
  chose and you can switch on a program and turn it off again if you don't
approve," Mr Turner said. 

  "Ultimately its up to the individual but with this Internet legislation there
is no choice, you are simply told
  you cannot access some sites." 

  However, Mr Howard said there had been strong community support for Internet
censorship. 

  "I'll have a look at your resolution ... but I want to make it very clear we
have no intention of walking
  away from the decision we have taken," Mr Howard said. 

  "The argument that is being advanced against this (legislation) is a very
narrow technical argument and
  ignores a very deep-seated feeling in the Australian community that parents
ought to be able to exercise
  some sort of control." 

  He said any industry against particular legislation claimed the laws were
unworkable, but he did not
  believe the censorship laws would cause the mayhem that had been suggested. 
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