OPINION: Australia's glorious Minister for Broaband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has been in the news for months over his nefarious plans to censor the Internet in Australia under the guise of protecting users from content normally refused classification in other mediums.

As noted in my previous article on the subject, 'Captain Conroy, Internet Enforcer, slams Google', the erstwhile and presumably otherwise well-meaning but still meddling Senator has slammed Google in a yesterday's ABC radio debate on Internet filtering in Australia.

The Minister tried to paint Google as a company that has had its own issues with privacy and not doing evil, which are certainly valid points, and even iTWire's own James Riley has written an article on Google being 'the world's biggest filter', but Google's stance on Internet censorship is plain: it says no.

The Minister's stance on Internet censorship of refused classification material is plain, too - he wants it. There's clearly nothing more important for the Minister than meddling with the Internet!

But what free thinking person would ever believe, following hundreds of years of government meddling in human affairs, that any government will keep it promises of not going too far in the censorship department?

Just because Australia lives in a democracy doesn't mean the government can't turn against the people - it has happened time and again in other societies, and as Ronald Reagan said, liberty is not passed down through the bloodline but must be fought for by every new generation.

Letting the government get its foot in the door of censoring anything online could soon easily turn into a censorship elephant in the room that comes with a free camera attached to your TV and a boot ready to smash into your face.

Is it all too fantastic to believe? Please read on to page two for details on China's latest actions against Google'¦ if it hasn't already been censored by the King of Censorship, Senator Stephen Conroy himself'¦ click on to find out!

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If it sounds too fantastic to believe, then why is Australia going to join the otherwise communist-led China in creating a nationwide filter that will censor the Internet - and at the same time refusing to let people see exactly what is on the blacklist filter?

China's latest actions in suffocating freedom and free expression come with the news from Forbes Magazine that China has now blocked Google from its searches, with reports from across China that Google's search engine is now inaccessible.

Well, Senator Conroy, you've had your cue from China. Time to saddle Australians up with a nationwide filter than only you control the buttons to, with the people having to take your word for it that it'll never be misused by the government you belong to, or future governments to come.

Now that the Labor Party's 'comrades' in China have taken this draconian step, there's nothing to stop Senator Stephen Conroy and our Great Leader Kevin Rudd from following China's sterling example and effectively banning the world's best search engine from Australia's shores in retaliation for Google speaking out against censorship.

In the best tradition of Government programs for all, perhaps Senator Stephen Conroy should have the Australian Government start up a building the search revolution 'Govgle' website - a Google alternative of the government, for the government - and bugger the freedom of the people.

Who needs freedom anyway? What use is it? Everyone should just be a government employee and shut the hell up, or you'll be sent to the Tasmanian salt mines for 10 years of hard 'Labor'.

China has just blocked Google. The world now waits and wonders when Australia will block it, too.