FC: Australia censors its own parliament's Net-connections

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Ironically, this fuss comes just a short time after the government has been 
trying to push filtering software on its citizens:
  http://www.politechbot.com/cgi-bin/politech.cgi?name=iia
  http://www.politechbot.com/p-00799.html
But as soon as it applies to 
them, they seem to get anxious. Heck, if they have anyone in Parliament 
like Bob Packwood, maybe that's not such a bad idea.

-Declan

************

http://www.smh.com.au/news/0003/10/national/national11.html

                 Nannies' nasties Web filter
                 leaves residue of outrage

                 By DAVID HUMPHRIES, State Political
                 Editor

                 The Government's Internet nannies have cut off
                 Parliament House access to Web site nasties,
                 prompting outrage from State MPs and a normally
                 mild-mannered Parliamentary Librarian, Mr Rob
                 Brian.

                 An extraordinary exchange of e-mail
                 communications was provoked when MPs and
                 parliamentary sections were notified a week ago
                 the Premier's Department had ordered "filtering"
                 (read censoring or shutting down) of Web sites
                 dealing with criminal skills, dating, extreme or
                 obscene sites, gambling, games, hate speech and
                 sex.

                 A former Carr Government minister, Coogee MP
                 Mr Ernie Page, said MPs were being "treated like
                 naughty schoolchildren" and would be
                 "disadvantaged in what they can contribute to
                 community debate".

                 "I am shocked, but maybe not surprised, that this
                 decision has been made without broad
                 consultation," he thundered.

                 ...

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