Without wishing to suggest either way as to whether the ACL as a organisation has a positive or negative effect on the current federal election campaign, I do have to wonder about some of their actions, or inactions, as the case may be.
I just took this snapshot from the front page of their website, and it seems they have not gotten around to updating some graphics:
The ACL claim to be “in touch” with the beliefs of Australians, yet haven’t gotten around to updating their heavily politically motivated website with an image of the new Prime Minister?! Something that happened weeks ago? Surely if they believe in their message enough, they should be studiously updating the information they present to the public, so as to remain relevant, and credible?
The ACL is an organisation which claims to speak for mainstream Australian beliefs in this election campaign, particularly on the issue of “bad stuff” on the internet, and that their beliefs in this regard must be applied to everyone. Well, ACL – myself, and many others – do not believe in your want to ram censorship down our throats. The Coalition and the Greens have called you out on this, and look set to deem the policy to failure.
Which incidentally it already was.
I have heard both the government and the ACL claim that the mandatory filter would not be censorship at all, when of course it really is. Censorship, which by definition is:
“Policy or programme of censoring”
So what is “censoring”? By definition it is:
“To delete (a word or passage of text) in one’s capacity as a censor.”
The same page defines “censor” as:
“An official who examines books, plays, news reports, motion pictures, radio and television programs, letters, cablegrams, etc., for the purpose of suppressing parts deemed objectionable on moral, political, military, or other grounds.”
Textbook. Censorship. Definition.
Senator Conroy himself actually said “blocking material is not considered to be censorship” – which we can now see is an idiotic statement – particularly in the light of the above definition.
This is why you and your friends over at the ALP are left standing with egg on your faces. You believe your own rhetoric on this issue so much, that you’ve completely lost sight of what it is you are proposing.
Censorship. I really hope that the Coalition and Greens stance to vote against the legislation is really annoying for you – because the whole policy has been annoying a lot of Australians for a long time.