iiNet says Sen. Conroy lied

David Heath
Tuesday, 01 June 2010 00:29

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

iiNet CEO Michael Malone has reasserted the company's total opposition to the Internet filter, despite claims to the contrary by Sen. Conroy.

In an interview given to the Sun-Herald, Senator Stephen Conroy, Minister for the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE) insisted that "this policy [the Internet Filter] has been approved by 85 per cent of Australian internet service providers, who have said they would welcome the filter, including Telstra, Optus, iPrimus and iiNet."

Michael Malone, CEO of iiNet, takes very strong exception to that statement, saying that, "The proposed filter is fundamentally flawed, will not achieve its stated purpose and simply will not work. It is fundamentally bad policy; we do not and never have supported such a system."

He continues, "We have been involved in the Government's consultation process in an effort to at least have some transparency measures introduced.

"However, any claim that our participation in that consultation process is support for the Government's policy is an outright lie.

"Our position is unchanged. This proposed filter is a waste of money that should be instead spent on additional law enforcement and education resources."

Not one to shrink from a fight, Malone is fresh from his battle with AFACT and other copyright holders in the Federal Court in Sydney; a battle which is soon to be resumed with the upcoming appeal.