[This article was first published in Crikey on Monday 2 March. Nothing's changed since then.]

The villain gets thrown off the cliff. He bounces off the rocks into the river and his limp, bleeding form is flushed downstream. Hurrah! But just as our heroes down their first celebratory drinks, the door bursts open and the villain is back — soaking wet and angrier than ever…

“The Government’s plan to introduce mandatory internet censorship has effectively been scuttled,” wrote Asher Moses last Thursday when independent Senator Nick Xenophon withdrew support for the Rudd government’s internet “filtering” plans. Opponents of Senator Conroy’s scheme popped open the virtual champagne and started sending congratulatory messages to anti-censorship lobbyists.

But as blogger Kieran Salsone’s headline put it, “Twitterati blow load over Xenophon: Lobbyists still without cigarette”. Despite Senator Xenophon’s announcement, nothing has actually changed and Senator Conroy has yet to comment.

True, any legislation would need support in the Senate from the Coalition or all seven minor party and independent senators. With the Coalition expressing grave reservations and calling the proposal insulting, and with the Greens and now Xenophon opposed too, any legislation would be blocked.

Blocked, that is, unless someone changes their mind.

While the Greens will presumably hold fast, it’s conceivable that Coalition senators could cross the floor, and Senator Xenophon’s position on almost any issue can be rather, um, flexible. Currently his highly-evolved political nostrils detect the whiff of unpopularity emanating from Senator Conroy’s direction — how could anyone miss it? But the wind may shift again. Particularly if the recently-emboldened Xenophon of the Murray is tossed another few hundred mind-changing millions.

Internet filtering could even be introduced without legislation — though that’s a more difficult path.

Dale Clapperton from Electronic Frontiers Australia reckons it’s possible through various ministerial and department actions — but it’d be hard work, requiring the cooperation of the Internet Industry Association in introducing a new Internet Industry Code of Practice. Even then it could be vetoed in the Senate.

As Peter Black, who lectures in internet law at QUT, told Crikey, “It certainly would be difficult — both legally and politically — to do without legislation, but it may be possible if the government can get the cooperation of the IIA (which may well not be forthcoming).”

Difficult or not, PM reported on Friday that “the minister is still looking into whether the filter would require legislation, or could be implemented through another means.”

Despite ever-mounting opposition, Senator Conroy isn’t saying die just yet. Not until after the trial results mid-year, anyway. Assuming he’s still Minister then.

Here’s my letter to my federal MP Anthony Albanese (pictured), which this very moment is rolling off his fax machine.

I’m hoping that Mr Albanese will be able to have some impact on this because he is both Minister for Infrastructure — the Internet is key infrastructure, right? — and Leader of the House of Representatives.

I know that he understands human rights issues because … well, us Marrickville folks just do understand these things, right Anthony? And you certainly knew how to stick it into John Howard when he demonstrated cluelessness.

Like Mark Newton, I also release this letter into the public domain.

The Hon Anthony Albanese MP
Federal Member for Grayndler
334A Marrickville Road
Marrickville NSW 2204

Internet censorship is poor policy: filtering trials must stop at once

Good morning Mr Albanese,

I write to you, my elected representative, to express my deepest concerns about the government’s current plans for censoring the Internet.

Respected network engineer Mark Newton, who I consider to be one of the pioneers of the commercial Internet in this country, has powerfully detailed his own concerns in a letter to his local MP, Kate Ellis. I too would like to see the government provide specific responses to the issues he raises — rather than the attempted bullying which has come from Senator Stephen Conroy’s office.

Where is the demonstrated need for an online censorship regime? Where is the evidence that it is technologically feasible? Where is the demonstration that is it effective? Where is the demonstration that the stated potential side effects can be mitigated?

I have already speculated in Crikey that the Rudd government is only continuing with the filtering trials, which were set up by the Howard government, to placate Senators Steve Fielding and Nick Xenophon. I do understand that to secure their vote on other matters the government needs to toss them a bone occasionally. But…

The fundamental human right of free and open communication is far, far too important to use as a bargaining chip for Senate votes.

Last week’s Senate Estimates showed that The Greens understand this. Senator Conroy’s responses show that he cannot defend the trials on their merits — and more worryingly that he, and by extension the Australian Labor Party, does not understand.

During the 2007 election campaign the Prime Minister said many times that his government would be one of “evidence-based policy”. The evidence clearly shows that Labor’s policy on Internet censorship is wrong.

The only rational outcome is for these trials to cease immediately, before any more taxpayers’ money is wasted.

I welcome you response.

Regards,

Stilgherrian

Should you wish to print and send this to your local MP too, here’s a PDF copy, as well as the PDF of Mark Newton’s letter.

The quickest way to find your local MP is to hit openaustralia.org, and enter your postcode. You can then click through to his or her website for the contact details.

Senator Conroy needs to think a little harder about Internet filtering if he wants Australia to be less like China, I’ve just written in Crikey today.

I reckon Conroy knows the filters are a dud. When that report on the Internet filter trials dropped, he “welcomed” it and was “encouraged” by it, but only The Australian used the word “success”. Not Conroy — a fact his office confirmed to Crikey this morning.

Last night‘s Stilgherrian Live viewers voted Senator Stephen Conroy (pictured) “Cnut of the Week” by the clearest margin ever. But the actions of his office reported this morning really take the biscuit.

As Australia’s Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Conroy has been spokesman for the ALP’s policy of ISP-level filtering of the Internet. I’ve written about this before, but it’s back in the news this week because it was discussed in Senate Estimates, as Michael Meloni reports.

Conroy, as in December, was accusing critics of the policy like Greens Senator Scott Ludlam of supporting child pornography — a cheap rhetorical trick at the best of times.

This morning, though, news broke that Conroy’s office had tried bullying other critics.

Internode’s Mark Newton was highly critical of the filtering plan and Conroy’s evidence, but he was speaking as a private citizen. It was totally inappropriate for Conroy’s policy advisor Belinda Dennett to attempt to pressure him via Internet Industry Association board members and his employer.

Last year, Senator Conroy agreed with his Coalition predecessor, Senator Helen Coonan, when she said you get into trouble when politicians start picking technologies. Problem is, the ALP’s “cyber-safety” policy specifies “ISP filters that block prohibited content”. Conroy’s stuck with it. But the filters clearly don’t work. And he can’t be seen to back away from Internet filtering — in a trial program which, ironically, was scheduled by his predecessor — because the ALP needs the votes of Family First Senator Steve Fielding and independent Senator Nick Xenophon for other things.

Poor bloke. What is he to do?

How… 2005.

Laurel was tagged three months ago and is only getting to it now. And they’re not even real ropes!

Is that enough slagging-off? Shall I get on with it now?

Actually this will be fun on a Saturday morning. It’s been ages since I’ve done one of these. Here goes…

The Rules

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

8 Random Facts about Stilgherrian

As you read these, do reflect upon your own life and, if any thoughts are triggered, please add your own comments.

1. I can’t swim. Whenever I went near water deeper than my ankles my mother, bless her, would screech, “Don’t go near the water you’ll fall in and drown!” I avoided school swimming lessons. Even now, if I wade into water that reaches my chest, my pulse rate surges and more often than not I’ll have a panic attack. A spa isn’t necessarily relaxing.
2. I was the first person to let a talkback caller say “fuck” on Adelaide radio, as far as I know. At least in daylight hours. When challenged by the station manager, I said the sheer strength of expression was an important part of the caller’s political point, and that we didn’t do political censorship. This was in the late 1980s.
3. I’m told I’m a good shot with a gun. This was after a trip on HMAS Aware, an old Attack-class patrol boat run by the RANR. I loosed a full clip from a 9mm Browning automatic into a perfectly innocent oil drum floating gently off the boat’s stern. Most shots hit the target. The Quartermaster-Gunner noticed, and his views were relayed back to me. I haven’t fired a gun since.
4. One time I got so drunk I lost my colour vision for two days. I was left in charge of a keg of cider and was serving it on a “one for you, one for me” basis. Hey give me a break, I was young!
5. The scars below my left eye were caused by two different accidents. When I was about 2 years old, I ran into the brass tap of a rainwater tank — conveniently at face height at that age. When I was 23 I was run down by a car. I bounced over the bonnet. The windscreen wipers dragged my glasses from my face, ploughing a furrow through the flesh. It was raining. The blood trickled into my eye as I lay on the street waiting for the ambulance. My neck hurt. It hurt a lot. I remembered the drill, though. “Don’t touch me,” I kept repeating to the driver. “Don’t touch me!” Fortunately my neck was not broken. My left knee, however, continues to be dodgy.
6. At high school I was in the same Venturer Scout patrol as soon-to-be Senator Nick Xenophon. Every now and then I joke about running for the Senate too. Should I?
7. Once, for a whole week, I had no keys. I’d moved out of my Adelaide flat and was en route to Sydney. But everything I owned, apart from a bag of clothes and a handful of books, was in transit. I stayed with friends while making a leisurely journey via Melbourne, and I hadn’t arranged accommodation in Sydney. With no keys defining my relationship with land and property, I felt strangely liberated and fancy-free.
8. I sometimes wonder what would’ve happen had I stayed living in Adelaide. There’s an artist who… who perhaps could have received more of my attention. Last I heard, he’s sharing his life with someone born in the same hospital I was, on exactly the same date, but one year different. Fate is a fickle bitch.

You’re tagged!

And now it’s your turn. If you’ve already done this meme, let me know and I’ll victimise someone else.

• ’Pong, obviously.
• Alex Willemyns. Since you use Tumblr it’s tricky to post lots of text so maybe you have to do a series of pictures. Or post one fact at a time using text snippets. Or make a video.
• Garth “Deadly Bloody Serious” Kidd, it’d be nice to something from you more often than once every two or three months.
• Houston, whose last name I won’t give ‘cos it’s not on his blog.
• Nick Hodge Try not to make them all geekfacts.
• Snarky Platypus Here’s an excuse to finally write a second post. Or update Insane Platypus, a fine women’s basketball blog which has languished for nearly two years.
• Zern Liew. I know your Eicolab blog is business-oriented, so maybe yours all have to be facts about yourself which define your business identity. “All business is personal.”
• Zhasper

So, just because some people get suckered into shoving all their money into addictive machines, the rest of us are denied the convenience of withdrawing cash at the pub when we’re running short. Instead we have to go down the street — where we can be mugged more easily.

Here’s a thought. If gaming machines are the problem, why not get rid of the gaming machines?

Oh, that’s right. 8% of Victoria’s revenue comes from gaming machine taxes [PDF file], a total of 13% from gambling of all kinds.

Chairman Rudd has already said he supports Nick Xenophon’s push to remove ATMs from gaming areas. Xenophon doesn’t even become a Senator until 1 July, but already he’s an object of sincere and deep affection.

We’d already started to see the rise of a new wowserism. Imagine what it’s going to like when the balance of power in the Senate is held by Xenophon and Family First’s Senator Steve Fielding! If you thought we’d seen dull conformity before…