ALP internet-crippling plan is GO; will the Liberals join the Greens in blocking it?

Crikey, two hours ago, wondering if the ALP really would proceed with its awful internet-crippling plan:

At 2pm we’ll learn whether Conroy and the Prime Minister’s Office — which as with previous Government, is really the key decision-maker on media policy — has seen sense and accepted that mandatory filtering is not merely a gross infringement of Australians’ basic rights, but unworkable and an extraordinarily backward policy for a Government determined to right the wrongs of decades of failed telecommunications policies under both sides of politics.

The answer? No. The ALP has accepted nothing of the sort. They will, if the Liberals agree, ram this garbage through parliament next year.

After all, there are control-freak wowsers in marginal constituencies to pander to. Screw the rest of us.

(And no, I don’t seriously think the Liberals would vote against it: after all, it’s a fantastic tool the ALP is giving them for when they’re next in Government.)

UPDATE: Conroy’s media release reveals the detail:

The cyber-safety measures announced today include:

1. Introduction of mandatory ISP-level filtering of Refused Classification (RC) –rated content.
2. A grants program to encourage the introduction of optional filtering by Internet Service Providers, to block additional content as requested by households.
3. An expansion of the cyber-safety outreach program run by the Australian Communications and Media Authority and the Cyber-Safety Online Helpline – to improve education and awareness of online safety.

The nannies/authoritarians have truly taken over.

ELSEWHERE: Weez goes through the results of the unbelievably nonsensical trial. The filter was able to achieve good speeds when it didn’t block anything; and when it did block things, it (a) didn’t block the things it was meant to block; (b) blocked things it wasn’t meant to block; and (c) slowed things down. Absolute garbage, and if the ALP, Liberal and Fundy First MPs vote for such a thing (which they will), then every internet user needs to make a point of not voting for them next year.

UPDATE #2: And the “Australian Christian Lobby” is already pushing for the filter to be widened:

Managing director Jim Wallace issued a statement claiming the Enex report had “proven the technological principle [of filtering] can be extended to deal with other harmful X and R-rated material on the internet.

“This is now clearly feasible and we need a review in three years that might test this in practice, particularly using third party providers of URLs,” Wallace said.

Conroy would undoubtedly have rathered Wallace kept quiet about those plans until after the next election, but oh well. That’s what happens when you do a favour for Jim Wallace!