Thank you for the opportunity to address this rally. I am sorry I cannot be here in person to express my support but parliamentary commitments keep me in Canberra at the moment.

There is not much that I can tell you about the implications of this ridiculous Online Services Bill that you do not already know. I am sure most of you are much more familiar with the Internet than I am. I spoke in opposition to the Bill and a copy of the entire debate can be accessed on the net at www.aph.gov.au under the Hansard section.

There are however one or two points about the political context of this Bill which I think you ought to know. As you are aware, this is a Bill which came from nowhere and appeared very suddenly on the political stage. It is a Bill which was sprung on the people of Australia without them - or their parliamentary representatives - having a chance to review it fully. As a result it was full of inconsistencies. It was technically flawed. And it was littered with unintended consequences. The true extent of the economic and social costs of the passing of the Bill will only become apparent when we see how it works in practice. By then the damage will have been done.

But not only that, the haste with which it was brought on means that it will not even do what was intended. It will only give parents a false sense of security about their children's use of the Internet.

Bringing on legislation like this without appropriate consultation is an abuse of the democratic process. But this bill is not alone. The government is doing this all the time. Aboriginal heritage legislation was introduced in the face of widespread opposition from the Aboriginal community. So-called Voluntary Student Unionism legislation was introduced in the face of substantial opposition from student groups and university vice chancellors.

I would urge you to keep the pressure on government, not only to change its mind about this legislation, but to change the way it makes laws. Insist that they listen to the people who are affected most and make sure they take their views into account.

The second political point to be made about this Bill is that the Senate forced the government to a token inquiry by one of its committees. As a result, a number of the most glaring problems with the Bill were amended. Those amendments met some of the concerns of the industry, but in the end they will not be of any advantage to the small players in the Internet business. Small providers and Internet hosts will go out of business. End users will pay more and get a poorer service.

This again is typical of the government's approach to legislation. They are only interested in looking after the concerns of their mates in big business. Small business and the community get little or no consideration.

By way of a final comment I would just like to complement you on your efforts in coming out today to join this protest. For many of you it may be the first time you have been involved in a political campaign. To those of you I would say, "Keep your spirits up." This is a campaign that is just starting. It may go on for a long time and you should not get disheartened by early losses like the one we had in Canberra this week.

The Internet community is a creative one and I am confident that when it comes to campaigning you will come up with some original strategies for civil disobedience if that is what you choose to do. Maybe you will even come up with some strategies that we in the Greens can employ in pursuit of a wider agenda of social justice and sustainable environmental protection.

I wish you well in your campaign to have this Bill overturned.