eviltama
Mentally Deranged Maniac
Family First seeks net gag
Simon Hayes
SEPTEMBER 28, 2004
CONSERVATIVE political newcomer Family First wants an annual levy of $7 to $10 on all internet users to fund a $45 million mandatory national internet filtering scheme aimed at blocking pornographic and offensive content at server level.
The party, which holds a state seat in South Australia, is considered a strong candidate for a Senate spot after concluding preference deals with all the major parties except the Greens.
The party locked in a deal with John Howard last week to direct preferences to the Coalition in most lower house seats.
Family First, closely linked with the Pentecostal Assemblies of God movement, backs a range of conservative policies, including joint custody for children of divorced parents and tax deductions for school fees.
The party wants the internet filtered at server level, warning that children exposed to online pornography could exhibit "disturbed, aggressive or sexualised behaviour".
The current system of optional filtering had a poor take-up rate, the party said.
"As a society, we have acknowledged the need to regulate other media and prevent porn peddlers from accessing children and adolescents," the Family First policy reads.
"Why is the internet industry allowed to avoid responsibilities on this?"
Family First admitted the cost of the filtering scheme could be prohibitive for small ISPs, but said the scheme should proceed regardless.
"This may have the result of putting cost pressures on some of the smaller ISPs, but there are arguably too many of these at the moment, and adequate competition could be maintained with 30 ISPs rather than the hundreds in existence now," it said.
"This cost is a small price to pay to protect children."
The policy cites a recent study by the Australia Institute that found many teenagers had been exposed to internet pornography, and questioned the effectiveness of the existing system of internet regulation.
It cited a Newspoll commissioned by the institute, in which 93 per cent of parents of teenagers would support automatic filtering as providing "a clear mandate to go ahead with (the) proposal to implement filtering at the ISP level".
Simon Hayes
SEPTEMBER 28, 2004
CONSERVATIVE political newcomer Family First wants an annual levy of $7 to $10 on all internet users to fund a $45 million mandatory national internet filtering scheme aimed at blocking pornographic and offensive content at server level.
The party, which holds a state seat in South Australia, is considered a strong candidate for a Senate spot after concluding preference deals with all the major parties except the Greens.
The party locked in a deal with John Howard last week to direct preferences to the Coalition in most lower house seats.
Family First, closely linked with the Pentecostal Assemblies of God movement, backs a range of conservative policies, including joint custody for children of divorced parents and tax deductions for school fees.
The party wants the internet filtered at server level, warning that children exposed to online pornography could exhibit "disturbed, aggressive or sexualised behaviour".
The current system of optional filtering had a poor take-up rate, the party said.
"As a society, we have acknowledged the need to regulate other media and prevent porn peddlers from accessing children and adolescents," the Family First policy reads.
"Why is the internet industry allowed to avoid responsibilities on this?"
Family First admitted the cost of the filtering scheme could be prohibitive for small ISPs, but said the scheme should proceed regardless.
"This may have the result of putting cost pressures on some of the smaller ISPs, but there are arguably too many of these at the moment, and adequate competition could be maintained with 30 ISPs rather than the hundreds in existence now," it said.
"This cost is a small price to pay to protect children."
The policy cites a recent study by the Australia Institute that found many teenagers had been exposed to internet pornography, and questioned the effectiveness of the existing system of internet regulation.
It cited a Newspoll commissioned by the institute, in which 93 per cent of parents of teenagers would support automatic filtering as providing "a clear mandate to go ahead with (the) proposal to implement filtering at the ISP level".
