Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen

My name’s Bob.  I am a full-grown Australian male,  a Husband and a Father.

I use the Internet, As we all do.

And I am ANGRY because we are being LIED to.

I am ANGRY because most Australians do NOT even know they are being LIED to

I am ANGRY because Australia is becoming an "International laughing stock” -  in all of the places that COUNT in our future

I am ANGRY because International news stories put us in the same category as China Maylasia Burma & Singapore

I am ANGRY because THIS legislation  means that hundred of ISP's will go out of business, The cost of the Internet to YOU and me will DOUBLE and the speed will half, or much worse.

Most of all I am ANGRY because the legislation CAN NOT and WILL NOT work

It is IMPOSSIBLE to censor the Internet effectively.

We know that, The ISP's know that, The Government knows that, They received over 100 submissions from qualified experts that said that, and they IGNORED them all.

There are two possibilities: The Senator knows that it can't be done or the Senator genuinely believes it CAN be done. The Senator therefore, is either a "LIAR" or an "Incompetent".

It is a fraud on the Australian public

To be blunt, In my opinion, Senator Alston is the King Canute of Australian Politics His minders are telling everyone to admire the emperor’s new threads. But it's still a wrinkly old nude bloke standing on the beach with a leaky toy bucket in his hand. The whole thing makes as much sense as trying to stop swearing on the telephone... by telling the phone companies to 'make it stop'.

Here are the facts.

ISPs are NOT pro-porn (nor am I). They do NOT make their money from it. They are NOT interested in it. They could all do without the hassles associated with it.

If you need only ONE reason to stop this legislation here is one: It can NOT work. Ever. It is a massive waste of public money and is doing irreparable damage to this country's international reputation. That harms this country's future, and the future of our children.
 
It can only bring more government interference in our lives.

It will make us an International laughing.

It Will Economic damage Australia - your children and mine.

Canada announced it will NOT Censor the Internet, They are "concerned that any attempt to regulate Canadian new media might put the industry at a competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace”. Which is exactly what is happening to us.

Simple cheap effectives alternatives are available – AND Most are free)

The Government has budgeted 7 million dollars to do the impossible. If the Government wishes to TRULY provide some effective assistance to parents in 'protecting' their children, How about they drop all this nonsense and use the 7 million dollars to fund an education campaign and the free distribution of suitable software ? It will be cheaper .. AND it will work wherever there are responsible parents.

The Governments grasp of this whole thing can be shown by the fact that "New Blocking Technology" that they favour "Internet Sheriff" does NOT EFFECTIVELY block Pornography but DOES block such sites as ...OzeMail, Powerup, Iinet, Geocities, AOL Members site AND the Federal National Party Homesite.

It will not stop pornography,  PERIOD, It can NOT be done, to say it can,  is a LIE  -  if you need proof,  ask your ISP, Ask a knowledge friend, Ask a Net Expert. OR,  ask a "cluey 12 yr old".

 So what have we got, We have a Government that know nothing about "Technology". We have a "Minister" that can’t spell "Technology". A Minister who ignores over "100 Submissions" from people who know, In favour of 4 people who tell Ministers stuff they WANT to hear  - AND who do it for a living.

We may DOUBLE the cost and HALVE the speed of our Internet Access...We damage Australia's International reputation. We do damage to the future of our "Children". And we are being "DELIBERATELY" lied to by are appointed Government Representatives. As an Australian "I - DONT - THINK - THIS - IS - RIGHT".

What about YOU  ?????????????

Thank you for your time.