With the Greens and Coalition having said they will kill Labor's proposed mandatory internet filter – regardless of Saturday's poll – simple Senate mathematics tells you the controversial plan is destined to whither and fade to a distant memory.

But even in the last week of this often ugly federal election campaign, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is doggedly refusing to perform last rites on the policy.

He says if it is elected Government would await the outcome of a review of the Refused Classification category of the National Classification System and continue to work on the legislation with the intention of presenting it to the Parliament.

Speaking with Triple J radio's current affairs program Hack yesterday, Senator Conroy said the Government had accepted there were "legitimate concerns" in the community about the RC category was too broad and that the review would decide through the independent classifications board whether the rating still reflected the community view.

But there was no mistaking the intention to let the process run its course and look at the politics of it at the other end. The review is expected to take until the middle of next year.

Whether or not Australia implements a mandatory filter was a question for the Parliament and it would be asked to make that decision.

In the meantime, Senator Conroy accused Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey of an ongoing campaign to mislead the public over the filter policy. He said Mr Hockey's claims that the policy would slow internet speeds was wrong, and had been demonstrated as wrong by the technical trials.

Senator Conroy did not dispute a claim that the filter would be easy to circumvent, but said that didn't mean there was no need for the law. Confessing to having used a fake ID in his youth to get alcohol, Senator Conroy said it did not mean there was no need for laws againt underage drinking.

"We'll have the classification board conduct a review – as it does regularly, but it hasn’t done it for 6 years – to see whether what is contained within RC continues to be what we describe as the community view, the community standard," he said.

"The parliament is a robust chamber, and there are many, many different points of view as you'd expect, so the debate that we will have will be a good thing."

"If (the bill) loses, then it loses. That's democracy."

Should Labor retain government, Senator Conroy seems unconvinced about the strength of unity within the Coalition to see the mandatory filter dumped. Both the Liberal and Nationals ranks boast outspoken social conservatives who were non-plussed by the policy decision to oppose the scheme.

Source: Itwire