Senator Conroy, RE: Internet Filter

I am writing this email to you to express to you how your actions have cost your government and any future governments that act like this, my vote and every vote from here on in.

It is obvious to me that the reason you insist on implementing the internet filter despite its total lack of ability to provide the sort of protection that the government claims it will, is because this is just a distraction from the real driving force behind implementing such a blatant violation of the rights of Australia's population.

My objection is not about what this filter is supposed to block, it is about the assumed right our democratically elected government thinks it has to just insert such an infringement on our rights to access the world wide web.

The placement of this filter on our internet sets up a very unwelcome precedent for the modification of the information available to us.

Once in place it is the perfect tool to erode the freedoms of the people to discuss and exchange ideas.

Once in place, we are on a slippery slope to the removal of the agreed governmental system and its replacement by any group who chooses to manipulate the flow of information, and removal of any ideas that that group does not agree with.

This is a dangerous path to walk down and it makes a mockery of the people who worked so hard to gain the rights we have today.

If you are worried about the children as you claim, then sink these funds into proper action to address the situation, more police to investigate the people who harm the children, much steeper penalties for those found guilty of such crimes etc, don't pretend to be implementing this filter "For the Children", everyone knows that’s just rubbish.

Using the fear of people not wanting to be outcast, by inferring that anyone who is opposed to this filter must therefore be a paedophile is the most disgusting and vile abuse of your position within this government and you ought to be ashamed to stand there and utter such pathetic rot.

That sort of disgusting behaviour is known as witch hunting, you assert that an objection to this filter infers a link to poor morals or crimes against children.

This is no better than saying that "when we weight this woman’s legs with stones and throw her into the river, she must drown to prove her innocence of this charge of being a witch, but if she survives, then this proves that she is guilty and we must burn her at the stake"

How pathetic that in 2009 you can hold a seat in government and utter such rubbish.

There is no such correlation between the objections and this behaviour, you are just witch hunting and you know it.

This will end your career very quickly.

The word "Mandatory" is not what we expect from an elected government in Australia.

This reeks to me of the start of something we saw in World War 2, which led to some of the biggest violations of human rights in known history.

You must be aware that prohibition of a pure world wide web will just force it underground, that’s what prohibition does, this means that any of the criminals that use the internet to their advantage will resort to the underground version of the internet and you will have lost the ability to observe their movements, and to be effective in any way to stop them. This would be the exact opposite of the result you are claiming to want.

We don't elect a government to dictate to us, we elect a government to represent us and to be just in its actions.

Once you start abusing rights, you lose the rights that protect you.

This government has a job to do, representing justice for the population that supports it. If they are not going to do the job they have, then they will be removed by the same population that put them there and replaced by a group that will.

Creating a situation where the information available to people can be prejudged and interfered with is not a matter taken lightly.

We as Australians will not allow you or anyone to further undermine our rights,

YOU WILL BE STOPPED!

Anthony Voevodin.