I’ve suggested that policy makers think about trying to engineer a situation where ‘defaults’ – what happens when we do nothing – are considered and set to optimise outcomes rather than just be allowed to happen. Thus without infringing anyone’s freedom of choice we could specify that, if they do nothing 6% of employees wages will be paid as ‘salary sacrifice’ into their super fund alongside the 9% compulsory employer contribution – with employees free to opt out.
Kim Beazley’s decided to get the default moving on something a little more sexy – literally I’m afraid.
Opposition Leader Kim Beazley said a Labor government would force internet service providers (ISPs) to block violent and pornographic material before it reached home computers.
Under the “clean feed” system, pioneered in Britain, users would be unable to access any content banned by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) because it contained graphic sexual or violent material, rated R or higher.
Mr Beazley said all households would be included in the policy unless they opted out.
This is so typical of the Left. The basic assumption is that the great unwashed don’t know what is good for them, and we, the ‘enlightened’ ones must compel them to do what we know is best for them.
Beazley’s proposal has nothing to do with the “left”, because Beazley isn’t of the left on any view. This is Kimbo reassuring the “silent majority” (well, actually the Hillsong crowd) that he’s just as socially conservative as John Howard. In fact, Beazley’s proposal is merely an additional step in the anti-porn regime implemented by Richard Alston in 2000, as this Wikipedia article explains:
I agree with your comment Ken – its a dud policy – but jettisoning Beazley before the election would only lead to more turmoil and bloodletting within the ALP.
Better to forge a consensus with a new leader post 2007-election when the ALP can gauge how effective Beazley was electorally.
I also agree that this policy is hardly associated with the”left” or left politics. Howard has implemented a range of policies over the last ten years that act in a fundamentally paternal way towards the community, and nobody is saying that he has drifted to the left during this time.
[…] Another reason to dislike the enthusiastic advocate of the bloated Welfare-Warfare state who is currently the ALP’s leader (link via Club Troppo: Opposition Leader Kim Beazley said a Labor government would force internet service providers (ISPs) to block violent and pornographic material before it reached home computers. […]
Anyone who thinks Beazley (or any ALP leader) wouldn’t lead a more paternalistic, authoritarian and coercion-orientated government than the Coalition is dreamin’. Sure Howard’s far from perfect in this regard, and should be criticised for paternalistic legislation, but with a two-party system in a country that historically has welcomed interventionist governments far for than the USA, we have to be thankful for the lesser of two evils.
“This is so typical of the Left”
It hasn’t taken Sen Coonan long to join the ‘left’:
“A day after scoffing at a Labor plan to force internet service providers to filter out porn and violence, Senator Coonan yesterday changed tack and said the Government had not ruled out such a filtering system.”
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/coonan-flips-on-net-porn-barrier/2006/03/22/1142703446070.html
Where oh where will this latest censorship folly end.
My detailed criticisms of ISP-level filtering at Catallaxy. Check it out.
Seems the faster the horse bolts, the easier people seem to think it will be to catch it.
If the ‘problem’ of content available via the Internet was that easy to resolve, it would have been done earlier.
The Internet is not a library where you can put the ‘bad’ books behind a curtain or in another room and that’ll fix things. There’s always another way to get behind the curtain.
Censorship is not a ‘Left Only’ push. Many on the Right desire the same. Indeed the current government has censored our domestic Internet, in a less visible manner. They considered a blanket approach, but resourcing and technical issues – together with widespread resistance – led to the current classification system.
I suspect the Opposition Rights’ desire to differentiate themselves from their brethern in Government has perhaps gotten a little out of hand this time.
Moralists desperately desire a “nice” world. They want their fairytales to be true. LIfe is risky. Children will never be completely safe. You cannot prevent things from happening to them, nor coddle their curiosity out of them. You do need to teach children. You do have to pay attention to what they’re doing, and so forth. Parents are responsible for their offspring, and parenting is hard work.
The reality is that “nice” is simply not possible. Reality requires some effort on your part. Disney cannot do your work for you.
Once again, whyisitso demonstrates his partisan bigotry – both this policy and its proponent are deeply conservative, you fool. The *opposition* to it is mostly coming from “the left”.
Honest, if you can’t be bothered thinking before you post, mate, don’t bother posting.
Sure sign you’re losing your grip dd when you resort to personal abuse. It’s the only argument you have left.
Yes Whyisitso, I agree, DD shouldn’t have called you a fool.
Now how about a resopnse on the merits? Lets just say that DD claimed that what you said is foolish. Well, lets not put words into DD’s mouth. I’ll even go that far myself.
The solution Mr Breazley calls for is simple. Block all picture and film files. Text only allowed. I know we need to censor text too. We are not allowed to say what we want to, not even here xxx—xxxx. If Kimmy is serious (serious not steaming as he does on TV), The news and sport can be cut in half. I think this is good idea then we can go back to using the postal service to distribute adult material, violent and non-violent erotica included. Yes I know it’s illegal to post erotica thorugh the post and the penalties are the same if you post a bombbb, that’s why the Internet became popular wasn’t it?