Greens table anti-ISP-filter in Senate

The Australian Greens have issued a petition in the Senate sporting upwards of 19,000 Australian signatures opposing the Government’s proposed mandatory ISP-level filter.

Greens senator, Scott Ludlam, said that it is time for communications minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, to listen to the community voice and abandon the Internet filter.

"19,230 Australians have sent a strong statement in this petition by Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA), asserting that it's up to them to determine how their Internet service is filtered and what content is filtered, and not the government,” Ludlam said.

Ludlam reiterated the Greens stance on Internet censorship, stating that a combination of law enforcement, education and optional filters would be a better solution than the mandatory filter.

The Greens also expressed its delight with the National Party’s ‘sensible’ decision to also oppose the mandatory filter. The latter political party issued a statement against the government's proposed filter following its federal conference this week.

According to Ludlam, the Nationals have been ‘inundated’ with complaints from members of the public in regards to the Government’s Internet censorship scheme. However, the Liberal party is yet to declare its stance.

Although the Greens have been adamant about its stance on the filter and the ‘backwards manner’ in which the Government went about building the NBN, the party was vocal in its support for the deal between Telstra and the NBN Co.

Ludlam said in a recent blog post that the deal would put to rest any potential conflict between Telstra and the Federal Government, which could have resulted in “wasteful duplication of resources.”