Proposed changes to Australian legislation

Basic principles

Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right.
Restrictions on freedom of expression can only be justified when the exercise of that freedom infringes on the human rights of others. The burden of proof of infringement must lie on the state.

The state may ban material when the deprivation of rights of others is a direct consequence of the production of material.
Child pornography is the strongest example of material which the state should ban, because the production of such material involves the abuse of children.

No recording (image, film, or sound) of a lawful act can be unlawful.
It is not acceptable to ban material on the basis that seeing, reading, or hearing it may harm the person who has chosen to see, read, or hear the material. It is a fundamental right that adults can choose to see, read, or hear what they choose.
Everyone has a right to be offended. No one has a right to be not offended.
Compulsory labelling schemes are unacceptable because they are a "prior restraint" on freedom of expression. This applies to both labelling of publications and online content. The current classification scheme would still be effective if it gave a voluntary safe-harbour to publishers, that is, protected publishers from prosecution if they obtained a classification. In general, individuals should be prosecuted if they commit a crime, not restrained in case they do ("prior restraint").

Australia has a system of censorship which is divided between the federal government and the states, and so changes are required at both levels.

If the states continue to regulate the display of types of material in places accessible to the public, they must also permit areas (such as adult shops) where adults can exercise their rights.

Lift restrictions on broadcast television, so that material for grownups can be shown late at night. It is senseless to dumb down Australian TV to the point that nothing unsuitable for children can be shown.
Online content
- Restrictions on hosting online adult content in Australia must be lifted. The current system protects no one, because the vast majority of material is hosted overseas. The only effect of this ban is to restrict Australians from expressing themselves.
- Age verification systems must not be required, because such systems deprive adults of their privacy, and because of their cost also prevent individuals from publishing
- Access by minors to online content should be regulated by their parents or guardians. Parental guidance includes establishing rules, and enforcing them by having computers in shared areas where parental supervision can be exercised. Parents may choose to install filtering software if they don't think their children will obey.