A recent Roy Morgan poll showed a predicatable increase in support for Kevin Rudd’s new Labor government. The numbers are:
Labor – 49.5% (up 6.1%)
Coalition — 34% (down 8.1%)
Greens – 10.5%
Fam 1st — 2.5%
Other — 3.5%
On two-party preferred that gives Labor a 60.5% – 39.5% lead over the coalition. Of course, this doesn’t really mean much so soon after an election. But it does show what a long road the Liberals have in front of them if they are to be competitive at the next election.
December 26, 2007 at 5:46 am |
The Libs made a mistake electing Brendan Nelson to lead rather than Turnbull.
December 29, 2007 at 2:00 am |
“The Libs made a mistake electing Brendan Nelson to lead rather than Turnbull.”
I think precisely the opposite. I think they need to save Turnbull for better times. If Turnbull doesn’t agree, he is short-sighted. Which may undermine my original idea:)
December 31, 2007 at 12:04 pm |
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22989008-662,00.html
With Labor planning to introduce internet filtering at the ISP level (you can ‘opt-out’ of it) I think the LDP should add ‘Freedom of the Internet’ to the LDP Policies.
January 2, 2008 at 12:13 pm |
“A report by the Australia Institute in 2003 showed 84 per cent of boys and 60 per cent of girls using the internet had experienced unwanted exposure to sexual material.”
Given that boys have had an exposure rate of 24% more than girls I doubt much of the exposure was unwanted……
Who said sheltering children from porn on the internet was necessarily a good thing anyway? If something exists in the world, then children have a right to know about it and have their parents explain it in an age-appropriate manner, in my opinion.
If other parents disagree there are options they can implement themselves to protect their prepubescent children. Post-pubescent children looking for porn? Not even a filter at the ISP level could stamp that out. imo.
I’m sure the internet will be discussed a the National Convention. It’s a big potential constituency, especially with the popularity of Ron Paul.
January 2, 2008 at 1:01 pm |
The libertarian concept acknowledges the need for protection of children on the grounds that they are not able to make rational choices. Thus adult pornography is seen as a matter for adults alone, but child pornography is acknowledged to be a crime.
The question that arises is, where does the responsibility of parents end and the State begin? Internet security, like advertising to children and promotion of “fat” food, is an example of an issue on which some people argue the State has a larger role.
Although I am instinctively opposed to any increase in the role of the State, the way the issue is characterised makes a difference. It’s not solely about parental responsibility and government intrusion.
We generally accept the State has a role in enforcing the law restricting porn availability to minors. Thus, if it is OK to restrict the sale of pornographic magazines to children, notwithstanding the risk that adults will also face limitations, why is it not OK to limit child access to internet porn?
This is an area in which the LDP needs a well thought out policy, consistent with our libertarian values. As adults, we value the lack of controls on the internet. However, we should also acknowledge that there is another perspective.
January 4, 2008 at 12:49 am |
There are legal limits preventing children from purchasing porn online unless they are 18 much like there is offline. (This seems weird with an age of consent of 16- you can do it- just not look at pictures of others doing it!).
As far as I know there is currently no law, offline or online, preventing someone from giving porn to a minor.
I understand there is a need to protect children, but what exactly are we protecting them from? Regret in their adult lives? I honestly don’t feel that children need much more protection from bad decisions than adults do. After all, parents are allowed to make a lot of bad decisions in regards to their children so why aren’t children (especially teenagers) legally allowed to make some bad decisions for themselves.
Violence, coercion and fraud are totally different matters. But they are wrong to perpetrate against adults as much as kids.
January 4, 2008 at 3:59 pm |
Protection of children is not simply based on the assumption that they cannot make rational choices, but that they cannot assume responsibility for bad decisions.
Whether teenagers are old enough to accept responsibility is another question. In law, the doli incapax rule ceases at age 10.