More Proof That Conroy’s Filter Is a Con

Minister for Communications Curtailment, Business Obstruction & Child Endangerment

Sorry folks, as much as I’d like to drop this Internet filter business, more proof of government deceit keeps surfacing. If this story doesn’t wake you up to their real motivations then I’m afraid you are blinkered beyond any help.

As regular readers will be aware, I have repeatedly accused the Australian government of using “child protection” as a bogus excuse to introduce oppressive and inappropriate censorship measures to the Internet access of the Australian public.

It has been my contention that the government’s real aim is not child protection, but to prevent adults from viewing information that they would prefer be kept secret.

The following quote, often incorrectly attributed to Adolf Hitler, succinctly expresses my belief as to what is happening:

“As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation.”

In fact that quote originated with one Rabbi Daniel Lapin, in a fictional letter written from the grave by Hitler. But the words ring true and the ruse is currently being used by the Australian government to justify the implementation of Internet filtering and censorship.

In reality it’s not child exploitation or abuse they are interested in, not pornography, not hate or terror. What they are really trying to restrict are exposures that would adversely impact the government’s credibility; all the grubby little incidents that politicians and bureaucrats generate by the thousands and do their damnedest to keep secret. This is entirely political, not moral.

Here’s just one more example of why the “child protection” justification is a crock of crap. On January 5, 2010 there was a small article in The Courier Mail (major Australian newspaper) which in part read as follows:

A Queensland (Australian state) man caught in an international child pornography sting will be out of jail much more quickly than his American counterparts.

Despite being identified as a ringleader of a group trading in hard-core child porn, council father of three Derek Richard Mara, 30, was ordered to serve just 32 months of a six-year term.

A Victorian (Australian state) man also involved in the network known as “The Group” was sentenced to just 15 months jail.

In contrast, 14 Americans are all serving sentences of between 13 and 30 years. One was also ordered to pay $3.2 million restitution to one of the child victims despite never meeting her.

Does that inequality of sentencing not disgust you? The thing is, I’ll bet you won’t find a single American (with the exception of their fellow deviates) complaining that the US pedophiles have been dealt with too harshly.

Now I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t claim to have any real knowledge of the law, but my research indicates that under Australian Commonwealth law the crime of “producing, possessing or supplying child pornography” carries a maximum penalty of 10 years. Yet it seems that Mara’s 6 years is the longest sentence ever dished out under commonwealth law for that particular offence. And as if 60% of the maximum isn’t disgraceful enough, he only has to serve 32 months of it.

Is that a government acting against predators in the best interests of children and to the expectations of society in general?

On the other hand it would seem that the US government, which (as far as we know) is not currently planning to introduce an expensive, damaging and useless Internet filter under the guise of “child protection”, is genuinely serious about cracking down on predators.

Equally as obvious is that the various Australian governments aren’t nearly as concerned.

So again I ask: What is the real goal of the Great Australian Firewall? You are free to decide for yourself, but I can’t for the life of me see how you could possibly arrive at the answer “child protection”.

Australian lawmakers, hang your heads in shame.

Stephen Conroy, extract your head from your nether regions. Those of us who are already awake to your deceptions fully intend to do our best to educate those who, through technological naivete, are inclined to believe the rubbish that comes out of your office.

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