When this document turned up the first thing that sprang to mind was that there had to have been quite a few Northern Rivers letters or emails sent to Labor's Janelle Saffin for her to create a one-size-fits-all unaddressed letter as a word document.
The second point that was forcefully borne home was that Ms. Saffin either has not read any of the information concerning the potential impact ISP-level filtering will have on functioning of Internet access in Australia and the frequency of unintended blocking likely to occur or she is deliberately ignoring it in the interests of party unity and relying on Conroy's 'fawlty' assurances that all will be well.
Disappointing to say the least.
However, never let it be said that I did not give equal time to Federal Government propaganda in the current debate on the Great Wall of Australia:
Regarding your concerns that ISP filtering will result in censorship of the internet
I am aware that the proposal for ISP filtering has attracted some criticism from those, like yourself, who are concerned that it will lead to censorship of the internet. However, the Australian Government has no plans to stop adults from viewing material that is currently legal, if they wish to view such material.
The Government regards freedom of speech as very important and the Government's cyber-safety policy is in no way designed to curtail this.
The internet is an essential tool for all Australian children through which they can exchange information, be entertained, socialise and do school work and research. The ability to use online tools effectively provides both a skill for life and the means to acquire new skills.
However, while the internet has created substantial benefits for children it has also exposed them to a number of dangers, including exposure to offensive content. As such, parents rightly expect the Government to play its part in the protection of children online.
The Government has committed $125.8 million over the next four years to a comprehensive range of cyber-safety measures, including law enforcement, filtering and education. Measures include:
· Australian Federal Police (AFP) Child Protection Operations Team - funding to detect and investigate online child sex exploitation;
· Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions - funding to help deal with the increased activity resulting from the work of the AFP to ensure that prosecutions are handled quickly;
· ISP level filtering - funding to develop and implement ISP filtering, including undertaking a real world 'live' pilot;
· Education activities - funding to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to implement a comprehensive range of education activities;
· Websites / Online helpline - funding to ACMA to improve current Government
cyber-safety website resources and to make them easier for parents to use, and to provide up‑to‑date information. ACMA will also develop a children's cyber-safety website to provide information specifically for children, and improve the online helpline to provide a quick and easy way for children to report online incidents that cause them concern;
· Consultative Working Group - funding for an expanded Consultative Working Group. The Group will consider the broad range of cyber-safety issues and advise the Government, to ensure properly developed and targeted policy initiatives;
· Youth Advisory Group - funding for a Youth Advisory Group which will provide advice to the Consultative Working Group on cyber-safety issues from a young person's perspective; and
· Research - funding for ongoing research into the changing digital environment to identify issues and target future policy and funding.
These initiatives will tackle the issue of cyber-safety from a number of directions to help clean up the online environment and protect Australian children from the dangers of the internet now and into the future. This approach acknowledges the key role parents and carers have in the online safety of children, and provides them with the necessary information to assist with this task. This initiative also recognises that there is no single solution to ensure children can access the internet safely.
A key part of the Government's plan to make the internet a safer place for children is the introduction of ISP level filtering. The policy reflects our community's growing belief that ISPs should take some responsibility for enabling the blocking of illegal material on the internet. Filtering would cover illegal and prohibited content using an expanded ACMA blacklist of prohibited sites, which includes images of the sexual abuse of children.
Consideration is being given to more sophisticated filtering techniques for those individual families who wish to exclude additional online content in their own homes.
The Government wants to ensure that Australian parents can access a 'clean feed' internet service. This will be informed by the technology adopted in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Canada where ISP filtering, predominantly of child pornography, has been successfully introduced without affecting internet performance to a noticeable level.
The Government's ISP filtering policy is being developed through an informed and considered approach, including industry consultation and close examination of overseas models to assess their suitability for
ACMA recently completed an extensive laboratory trial of available ISP filtering technology. The trial looked specifically at the effect of a range of filter products on network performance, effectiveness in identifying and blocking illegal and inappropriate content, scope to filter non-web traffic, and the ability to customise the filter to the requirements of different end-users.
The laboratory trial indicated that ISP filtering products have developed in their effectiveness since they were last assessed in 2005. The Government will now proceed with a 'live' pilot in the second half of 2008 which will provide valuable information on the effectiveness and efficiency of filters installed in a 'real world' ISP network. An Expression of Interest will be released in due course seeking the participation of ISPs in the pilot.
The Government is committed to working closely with internet industries to address any concerns, including costs and internet speeds. These concerns will be carefully considered during the pilot and will further inform the Government's cyber‑safety policy.
Thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention. I trust this information will be of assistance.
Yours sincerely
Janelle Saffin MP
Federal Member for Page
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