Where's the blanket opt-out clause, Senator Conroy?

Now the Federal Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy is quite welcome to consider me lacking in grey matter, but I am still puzzled by his announcement of federal government internet censorship at ISP level.

 

Senator Stephen Conroy talked of a mandatory system but also mentioned an opt-out clause.

"Conroy said Internet users would be able to access uncensored material by opting out of the service".

AFP:

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jV6oxYm5XnWf5WcGysJhPn0fY8Vw

 

This censorship regime appears to begin on 20 January this year and I cannot for the life of me find any mention in relevant documents of a blanket opt-out provision for those not wishing to participate in this brave new world.

 

To ensure this super net nanny did not obstruct totally innocent sites, limit search engine results or slow down a home PC, it seems that an individual would have to approach (in writing or electronic form) every ISP, proxy or mirror site he/she uses, in order to obtain a content exemption by request and provision of hardcopy proof of age or other required document.

 

What is all the more galling for my one computer, one person, child-free household is the fact that Senator Conroy is merely acting as the former Howard Government's barrow boy in this matter.

The ACMA began to look at mandatory Australia-wide internet censorship before the November 2007 federal election.

 

So, if the senator has an explanation it's time to air it.

 

The Australian article on the nanny-state:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22999432-16741,00.html

Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA):

http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_310905

Restricted Access System Declaration:

http://www.acma.gov.au/webwr/_assets/main/lib310563/ras_declaration_2007.pdf

RAS Explanatory Statement:

http://www.acma.gov.au/webwr/_assets/main/lib310563/es_ras_declaration_07.pdf

First unofficial water report card of 2008

Australia has a water report card of sorts from a survey undertaken by The Australian.

 

"Since the introduction of water restrictions, households in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane have saved 1.1 trillion litres of water -- as much as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane together used in 2006-07.

In 2006-07, the biggest reduction, in percentage terms, was in southeast Queensland, where residents were limited to 140 litres each a day starting in April last year. This week, the Queensland Water Commission said water use in the state's southeast had been less than that target for more than seven months."

The Australian article yesterday:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23004494-601,00.html

 

However, using a broad rule of thumb, Clarence Valley residents and visitors used an estimated 247 litres of water per person yesterday and I suspect that the rest of the NSW North Coast has a similar consumption pattern.

Let's all try to do better for the remainder of 2008.

North Coast Water online:

http://www.ncwater.nsw.gov.au/cmst/ncw002/nova.asp

NSW farmers welcome Rudd Government drought plan and climate change focus

Despite the Federal Opposition's weak carping the Rudd Government is being viewed favourably by one peak farming body. Though it is a pity that Agriculture Minister Tony Burke appears to have brought the Monsanto-inspired myth that genetically modified crops generally withstand drought conditions.

 

"The New South Wales Farmers Association says the Federal Government's planned changes to drought relief payments could help ensure the industry is viable well into the future.

Yesterday, new Federal Agriculture Minister Tony Burke said he would consider paying incentives to farmers to encourage them to change their practices to address climate change.

Mr Burke also hinted at research grants worth around $75 million for farm organisations, including more support for genetically-modified crops able to withstand drought.

Association president Jock Laurie says he wants more information about the plan.

"We need to sit down and get a lot more detail," he said.

"But one of the things the Government has said prior to the election and after the election in any discussions that we have had with them is that they have a very strong focus on climate change.

"They want to make sure that a lot of the programs that they have got in place in relation to research and development, education, and now they are talking about drought relief, is very much focused on climate change and focused on the long-term future of the industry and making sure that it can remain viable well into the future."

ABC News yesterday:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/04/2131590.htm

George Bush uses backdoor to reward Friend John

The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research has announced that it will be giving John Winston Howard the 2008 Irving Kristol Award for, wait for it, having made "exceptional intellectual or practical contributions to improved government policy, social welfare, or political understanding."

Almost choked on my wheeties laughing at this institute, which has close ties to the Bush Administration and US Republican Party.

Went to its website to find out more and discovered that "John Howard is one of the world's most successful democratic politicians."  Which made my laughter turn almost hysterical.

My mirth became paralytic when I went on to read that Howard had been "retirement by the voters in last November's national elections." and that "After September 11, 2001, Prime Minister Howard forged a strong alliance with the United States and Great Britain in the global war on terror, sending Australian troops to Afghanistan and later to Iraq."

Only in neo-con America could such an contrary, autocratic political bully be described in this manner.

I don't usually put links in my posts but everyone deserves to enjoy the joke.

http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.27308,filter.all/pub_detail.asp

NSW North Coast homeless struggling in soggy conditions

Spare a thought for those without a roof over their heads right now.

 

"INCESSANT rain has left homeless people scrambling for cover, according to a Tweed charity worker. Rosies, Friends on the Street Tweed co-ordinator John Lee said the continuing bad weather had made the homeless more vulnerable.------------- "The rain has made it worse for the homeless, especially if they have children," Mr Lee said. "The weather has gone berserk, and because of the Christmas-New Year period all the motels are booked out as well.---------------------The Tweed, Mr Lee said, urgently needed affordable housing. "For a family of five in a standard caravan park it can cost $50 a night and $350 a week for a tent site," he said. "Some people just can't get off the bottom rung."

The Daily News full article yesterday:

http://www.tweednews.com.au/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3759832&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection=

 

Note:

Minor to moderate flood warnings are current for the Kyogle and Lismore areas today.

Hotting up across Australia - one for those climate change sceptics out there

Bureau of Meteorology media release yesterday.

2007 a record warm year in southern Australia

For many Australians, 2007 was the warmest year on record, although when averaged across the whole of the continent, it was only the sixth warmest year.

Other features of the Bureau of Meteorology's 2007 Climate Statement, issued by its National Climate Centre, include near average rainfall but with a dry winter and spring following rain in southern Australia earlier in the year.

Statistically, the mean temperature for Australia was 0.67°C above average in 2007, making it the sixth warmest year since high quality Australia-wide records commenced in 1910.

But in the southern half of the continent temperatures were well above normal, with the Murray Darling Basin, South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria all recording their warmest years on record.

A grim feature of the year has been extremely low water availability across parts of Australia. Despite promising rains during the first half of the year, July to October was particularly dry. It was not until November that rain returned to much of the continent with the emergence of a La Niña event.

Overall, annual rainfall was average to above average across northern and central Australia, and average to below average in the southwest, with mixed results in the southeast. Patchy rainfall across southern Australia means that long-term droughts persist in the far southwest and in the southeast, including the Murray Darling Basin, all of Victoria and northern Tasmania. South-eastern Australia has now missed out on the equivalent of an average year's rainfall over the duration of this continuing 11 year drought.

Since 1 January 1908, the Bureau of Meteorology has been responsible for collecting, managing and safeguarding Australia's climate record. It is this national climate archive that allows data recorded today to be placed in historical context.

The Annual Australian Climate Statement 2007 can be viewed at:
http://www.bom.gov.au/announcements/media_releases/climate/change/

State climate summaries can be viewed at:
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/index.shtml

Petroleum merry-go-round

All day yesterday the Australian media was shouting out that oil had reached $100 per barrel and petrol prices at the pump would soar within days.

While increased petrol prices appear unavoidable, it was strange that not one media outlet managed to report the following.

"Oil prices eased Thursday [my emphasis] after soaring to touch a record $100 a barrel overnight on escalating violence in Africa's leading oil producer, a weaker U.S. dollar and a view that global demand for oil will outstrip supplies."

CNN.com yesterday:

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/01/03/oil.update.ap/index.html?iref=topnews

 

I guess the fact that the 'magical' $100 mark only lasted a few hours wasn't thought to make a good story.

However, it doesn't take a crystal ball to realise that teaching the car to eat grass may be the only way to go on the average family budget.