[MLB-WIRELESS] Government Internet Filter - What do you think?

[mw at freenet.net.au]

Howdi,

> Conroy can't just decide to block something, it has to be passed into
> law by parliament, to ban something, am I right?

Well, technically conroy wouldn't actually personally ban anything - unless
of course something hit the media so hard that he gets embarrassed into
invoking some extraordinary ministerial discretionary powers (like how the
immigration minister of the day gets to revoke decisions by the department
for this or that visa ruling etc)

The idea is that Conroy sets up some authority to manage the 'ban list'.
That authority would presumedly interpret the specific bill that is passed
through parliament once the senate is finished watering it down (or after
individual senators get this or that special consolation toward their own
pet barrow-push cause)

In this case, my understanding is that the administering body would be the
ACMA, so we should assume that the ACMA will appoint some bureaucrat to lead
a committee of co-opted 'experts' to meet 4 times a year to review
submissions.....  you know, the usual red tape and government inertia.

> We ban various things from being imported or available in Australia
> already.  How are they banned, I'm assuming by government legislation.

Essentially the same way, is my understanding.  The government of the day
passes some law, and that law is interpreted by the relevant authority - for
imports, it would be customs.

Anyone who doesn't like the way the authoritative body interprets the law is
free to use the courts to test their ruling.  OR, if the relevant minister
can be coerced, then the minister can usually simply enforce their own
interpretation.  Of course the minister's decision is also open to a legal
challenge.

Cheers!

Mike.