Week 6: Series of Political Action Tasks

1. Sign an e-petition:
This was this petition I signed to legalise same sex marriage: http://www.gopetition.com.au/petitions/legalise-same-sex-marriage-australia.html

2.Respond to a professional blogger at a major news site:
This was the professional blogger I responded to. It was Andrew Bolt's blog on the Herald Sun and the article was on the passing of 5 soldiers in Afghanistan. My comment needs to be processed before it is posted so it may come up within the next few days but it has not come up yet. http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/report_afghan_soldier_kills_three_of_ours/desc/P80/

3.What are the Australian Government's plans to censor the internet?
Minister Conroy has announced that he will introduce “mandatory ISP-level filtering of Refused Classification (RC) –rated content.”¹
-The filter will be based on URL filtering of a blacklist of between 1,000 and 10,000 URLs.
-The list of URLs will be based on the current ACMA blacklist, and will be supplemented by lists from international organisations (probably IWF).
-RC computer games will be excluded from mandatory filtering until the completion of the R18+ review.
-Additional funding will be available to encourage ISPs to offer voluntary filtering systems.

4. What place does censorship have in a democracy?
Although the initiative is intended and marketed as a tool to help protect children from the dangers of the Internet, this paternalistic scheme raises some troubling issues that affect all Australians. As a source of daily information, the Internet increases in importance every day. Do we really want the Government of the day deciding what Australian adults can and can't see? Do we want Australia to join a censorship club in which Burma, China and North Korea are the founding members?
-The list of prohibited sites will probably be secret, so it will be hard to know what content the Government has effectively banned.
-Filtering will be compulsory in all homes, even where there are no children.
-It is unknown whether there will be any way to have content removed from the prohibited list.
-How far will the list go, now and in future? Will it filter out material on sexual health, drug use, or terrorism? Euthanasia and anorexia have been touted by Government MPs as topics worthy of filtering

5.What are the benefits of the National Broadband Network?
by 2020, the majority of Australian households, businesses and other organisations will have access to smart technology to better manage their energy use.
An NBN-empowered digital economy can improve Australia’s environmental sustainability by supporting applications that encourage more efficient use of water, energy, transport and infrastructure.
Australia’s population has grown over the past 40 years at an average annual rate of 1.4 per cent a year, taking Australia’s total population to approximately 22.4 million in 2010. Australia also has a distinctive population distribution, being one of the most mobile and spatially concentrated of any country. It is highly urbanised, with 87 per cent living in urban areas, including 64 per cent in capital cities. Current projections suggest Australia’s population will continue to grow over time, but at slower rates than in the past.
 ii) When will the NBN come to my area?
June 2014

6. Find out who your local, state and federal representatives are and send them a message
My local member for Greenslopes is Ian Kaye. This was the email that I sent to him:

Hi Mr Kaye,

My name is Madelaine Ainsworth and I am a first year student at Griffith University. Currently I am studying News and Politics and since I have started studying this subject I have begun to acknowledge the things you have done for the Greenslopes area. I just wanted to say well done. In the few months that you have been elected you have made such a difference to the area and I really appreciate the hard work you have put into making Greenslopes a better place.

Regards,

Madelaine