Article item posted on Monday, November 2nd 2009 at 11:28 am

David Collyer Australian Democrats Candiate For Higgins

Clive Hamilton, The Greens’ candidate in the Higgins by-election expects us to abandon a wide range of important freedoms by trumping them with the hideous spectre of child sexual abuse.  His position is morally bankrupt, say the Democrats.  It delegates to government a power they plan to misuse before it even exists.

“Hamilton affirmed his support for the Rudd Government’s Internet Filter scheme as recently as a week ago.  His position is breathtakingly naive and means all citizens can be denied access to any content deemed unacceptable by public servants for any reason,” the Democrats’ Higgins by-election candidate David Collyer said today.

“He and the government are taking a legitimate public concern – the need to protect children from inappropriate material – and are using it to push through a wasteful, secretive censorship program riddled with unintended consequences that cannot achieve its policy aims.

“Hamilton is in direct contradiction to The Greens’ position on the issue,” Collyer said. “Even if the issue of internet content and filtering means very little to you, it is important to understand that Clive Hamilton does not support core Greens policies.

“Everyone in public life wants a secure internet experience for children. However, the very structure of the Rudd Government’s Internet Filter means it cannot achieve this objective.

“The secret national blacklist of websites exposes us to government abuse in perpetuity: legitimate, legal businesses have already found themselves on it with no recourse or ability to challenge or appeal the decision. The blacklist works only on complaints made to the Government.  It is subjective, incomplete and draconian.

“If the Australian Government awards itself this capability, it exposes itself to irresistible political pressures.  For example, the Chinese Government could insist all Falun Gong sites be blocked to Australians. The Rudd Government would cooperate, and we would never know.

The Democrats position is reinforced by Civil Liberties Australia’s stinging denouncement in their most recent newsletter: “Dr Hamilton jumped on board the censorship bandwagon early and with a flourish. He endorsed a virtual “anything goes” approach to government censorship. It didn’t matter how slow the internet got, or how the government curtailed people’s freedoms to access information… all would be OK under the dictatorial approach of Dr Hamilton. ”

The Democrats believe it is possible to deliver a safer internet experience for children without compromising the social, economic and political freedoms of others through building on our censorship laws that already classify media – or denies classification – allied with existing and evolving net filtering software.

“The Government is elected to serve the people and secret Government censorship programs work against the people.  Electing a Democrat will send a message to the Government that this is not the path of progress,” Collyer concluded.

Media contact – David Collyer 0413 248 193

“David Collyer is currently contesting the Higgins by election for the Australian Democrats against Clive Hamilton for The Greens and Kelly O’Dwyer for the Liberal Party,”

References: www.cla.asn.au/clarion/0911CLArionNov.pdf

Tags: australia, Australian Democrats, australian government, Australian Greens, australian liberal party, australians, blog, business, candiate, child sexual abuse, choices, Climate Change, clive hamilton, conservatives, contradiction, david collyer, democrat, democrats, economic foundations, election candidate, government abuse, government awards, greens, inappropriate material, individual liberty, internet content, internet experience, internet filter, Kerry O’Dwyer, labour party, legal businesses, legitimate public concern, liberal party, millennium money, money, political pressures, political thought, public servants, recourse, sectional interests, self interest, senator, socialists, spectre, unintended consequences, victorians

Other Readers Also Enjoyed

• Media Release – Exempt Left-Handed From Climate Change
• Abbott writes ‘Kick Here’ on the Liberal rump. The ALP and Voters will take him at his word
• Dont take my word for it: Climate Change Debated in Higgins, Collyer led.
• Warning Graphic Images. Australian Liberal Party’s Nuclear Agenda; dirty politics = radioactive environment
• Australia is drowning in debt – not Government borrowings – the private hellish sort that drives misery, paralysis even suicide.
• Red Alert? Australian Greens Showing True Colours? – Hands Off Australian Business, Watermelons!