As the campaign against Labor’s internet censorship plan gears up, some of the tactics (and indeed the overall strategy) of those opposed to this monstrosity troubles me somewhat, as I am unsure how effective it will be. By which I mean I think it’s been atrocious, and at this rate I think we will lose.
As such therefore, for what it’s worth, as someone who has spent a decade active in (Liberal) party politics, I thought I would offer my perspective on how to best defeat the Great Firewall of Australia for people’s consideration. Because I really, really do not want Australia joining North Korea, Cuba, China, and Iran!
Firstly, do not bother writing to Conroy or Labor party MP’s/Senators. It will not make one iota of difference. There is approximately 0% chance of Labor reversing course on this through writing to them. They have invested too much into it, and the loss of face would be something they would not be able to stomach. This is the tough realities. Sure, If you want to piss off some bureaucrats, and cause annoyance, you can follow Bernard Keane’s advice, but please note it will achieve nothing. There is only one way that targeting Labor will work, but more on that later.
This bill will pass or fail based on one thing and one thing only: whether the Coalition supports it or not. Whether you like the Coalition or not, this is the reality of the situation. As such, the only thing that supporters of an uncensored internet should be focusing on is getting Coalition MP’s to vote to oppose it. There is no – I repeat – no other way it can be blocked. There are quite a few Coalition MP’s already publically very opposed to the filter, and it has been soundly condemned by the Australian Liberal Students’ Federation, and the Young Liberal Movement of Australia. Plus, the Coalition opposed it before the 2007 election – keep them to their promise!!! So we have a good base to start off with.
The question then is, how do you go about doing this. Members of Parliament act based upon two things. Firstly, ideology, and secondly, self-interest. Thus you need to tap into both these things successfully. And it is different things with different MP’s. Make sure you also contact Tony Smith, the Shadow Minister for Communications. Tony has always been a strong believer in freedom and sound policy, and is someone we have a real chance with. It is vital we get him onside, so contact him!
The obvious first thing to do is to write letters (emails also work, but snail mail generally carries far more weight, and the chance of response is considerably higher). Writing campaigns have limited uses. MP’s rarely read their own correspondence after all, and replies are written by staff (although signed off on by MP’s). Having said that however, MP’s are to some degree, quite sensitive to the quantity of correspondence they receive. Note that marginal seat MP’s are more interested in getting re-elected than ideology, so point out this is a vote-changing issue for you. Say you will come out and support them in the election on this issue. Make it clear it is in their self-interest to oppose the filter (this is particularly effective if you’re a Liberal Party member, and make preselection support conditional on this).
The ‘talking points’ to include are obvious and I think everyone knows the myriad of problems that this plan will create. I would note, however, that talking about censorship – and in particular porn – probably isn’t the best line of attack. Whilst the government wants to paint us all as perverts, this is not about porn in the slightest. Many non-porn related sites will be covered by this, so do not at all focus on porn. It just makes you look bad.
Instead, I would focus more on the added regulatory cost this will impose, particularly on businesses (in these economic times, business can not afford etc etc) and how it will slow down the internet. If you want to talk about porn, and particularly this line will be more effective with conservatives, talk about how it will undermine parental values and the family unit, and create a false sense of security. We need to get across that the clean-feed is anti-family, as counter-intuitive as this may initially seem (because it is, after all, the fact).
The second thing to do – as much as many of us may cringe at the concept – is to use talkback radio. This is a forum which politicians, particularly conservative politicians, pay attention to. A lot. Talkback is often played in the background in parliamentary offices, and transcripts are made and sent around. People
With talkback being the genre it is, I would strongly recommend you remember your audience. Ie populist conservatives. Do not – under any circumstance – come across as pro porn etc. Talk about the importance of family values, talk about how you’re not-pro porn but this won’t work. How you’re mainstream Australia. Seriously, remember your audience! Do not attack your opposition. Say you understand how porn for kids is bad, how we need to protect the children etc. But that this won’t work. I cringe considerably when I hear most supporters of internet censorship try to justify why this is bad, because they use inappropriate arguments, and get shot down.
I mentioned previously that there is one way that campaigning against Labor will be successful. And this is in marginal seats, and not through letter writing, but rather through local media and grassroots campaigning. Marginal MP’s are nervous people due to their vulnerability, but again, it’s a question of doing it effectively. As such, I would suggest publically campaigning in marginal ALP seats to call on the member to oppose it. I would go so far as to say start up a local “organisation” in your area “Croydon Residents against Internet censorship” or something – even if it’s just a few people, you can then get things into local media easily. Press releases etc. Do a few events locally and you will get significant coverage at the local level – local media love that sort of thing so won’t be hard – and that is what will get Labor MP’s nervous. Say blatantly that we will oppose the MP actively at the next election if this is passed. And that will be the only way we will be able to get the issue to turn Labor to (quietly) drop it.
In conclusion – and I can not stress this enough – do NOT make this about porn, or even about censorship or freedom – I would not publicly use these words at all (despite using it in this post!). We have to recognise that is not a campaign that will be changed because of the viewpoint of net-savvy 20-somethings living in the inner city. Rather, it will be won in the marginals, where the demographics are different, and people have different values – polls demonstrate this. If we talk about freedom, we will be painted as pro-porn etc, and we will lose. Most Australians – rightly or wrongly – think that censorship violent or sexually graphic material is acceptable. So if we fight on those grounds, if we fight on the grounds of freedom of expression, we will lose. We need to fight this on our terms, not on theirs. And to do that requires a serious reevaluation of strategy.
We’re off to a strong start, but we really need to ensure we use messaging properly and effectively to get everyone on board.
