Tutorial Task 7

1. Sign an e-petition.

I signed the e-petition 'Save The Net' about internet censorship. The link is http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveTheNet&id=443&msg=Thank+you+for+taking+action+-+a+record+has+been+sent+to+your+email+address.

2. Respond to a professional blogger.

I commented on the blog post 'Sorry, Gina Ford and Robin Barker - I don’t need you anymore', by Alison Godfrey at News.com.au

3. What is Barack Obama up to today?

Barack Obama delivered the State of the Union Address at the U.S. Capitol on the 25/01/11. http://www.whatisbarackdoing.com/

4. Find out who your local, state and federal representatives are.

The local representative is Cr Karen Williams.
The state representative is Peter Dowling
The federal representative is Peter Dowling
http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/advocacy/advocacy_article.jsp?articleId=2386#QLD

5. Look up the Queensland or Australian hansard to find the last time your local member spoke in parliament.

The last time the Capalaba local member, Michael Choi spoke in parliament was Wednesday, November 24, 2010. This is the link to his speech http://parlinfo.parliament.qld.gov.au/isysquery/42829332-b5cd-49c1-8701-d35131f29eba/31/doc/

6. Let your local member know what you think about their last speech. 

I did not feel I had anything valuable to contribute about the agriculture industry and the coal seam gas industry.

*What do you think of the Australian Government's plans to censor the internet (the so-called "Clean Feed")?

My personal opinion relating to censorship of the internet is that people should have the freedom to choose what they view on the internet and what they do not. Censoring the internet is essentially retracting that freedom and dictating what can and cannot be viewed. As the mother of a small child, I would like to be the one to decide what is suitable for my child to have access to and to be the one to restrict access to particular sites and content. In relation to children accessing inappropriate content:

'The proposed category of censored sites will not be wide enough to provide assurances to parents. Parents will be much better served by installing one of the many voluntary filters that are currently available and ensuring that their children are adequately supervised and aware of risks they may face online' (No Clean Feed, nd).

I wholeheartedly agree that the most effective and safest way of monitoring and restricting child internet access is to closely supervise, teach children about internet use and install filters that can be controlled by the parent.

No Clean Feed: Stop Internet Censorship in Australia. (nd). What is the 'Clean Feed'. Retrieved January 28, 2011, from http://nocleanfeed.com/

*What place does censorship have in a democracy?

To me, the word 'democracy' refers to freedom, equality and the upholding of rights. The word 'censorship', on the other hand, refers to taking away the freedom of choice and expression. 'Censorship is contrary to the spirit of freedom and democracy' (Luft, 2007). I believe that it is a basic right to have the freedom of choice and I feel that censorship impedes that right. However, I am also aware that there is a large amount of illegal content that does need to be restricted, and without censorship that illegal content would run rife. What I do not agree with is censoring legal content, in which adults should have the right to choose whether to engage with the content or ignore it.

Luft, E. v.d. (2007). A socialist manifesto. Maryland, U.S.A.: United Book Press.