🚀 go-pugleaf

The PC Users Group (ACT) Inc is seeking "signatures" on a petition, to be sent
to the ACT Government, which objects to the current moves afoot to regulate 
the online communities of Australia. A slighlty modified version of the 
petition will be sent to the NW and Federal Governments.

The petition does not object to regulation per se, only to ill-informed, 
mis-targetted, ineffectual and unenforceable regulation, such as that proposed 
by the NSW Government.

The Petition is at:

        http://www.pcug.org.au/%7Ekauer/petition.html

The text of the Petition is also attached below.

If you are unable to use the Web, send email to petition@pcug.org.au. The body 
of your message should contain the following lines (in any order):

name Your Full Name
address Your full street address
email Your email address
nsw
federal

Case is insignificant. The first three lines are required, "signatures" 
without them will be discarded. The last two lines are optional. If you supply 
"nsw", your signature will be reused on a similar petition to the NSW 
Government. If you supply "federal", your signature will be reused on a 
similar petition to the Federal Government.

Regards, Karl Auer
   Communications Spokesperson
   PC Users Group (ACT) Inc.



Text of Petition:

"We the undersigned are deeply concerned about actions now being taken by 
various Australian State, Territory and Federal legislative bodies with 
respect to regulation and control of the online community in Australia and of 
the Internet in particular. 

We are concerned because these actions are for the most part being taken in 
ignorance and fear, not in response to practical or researched need. 

We are concerned because policy is being developed by officials who are 
ignorant of the nature of the Internet, ignorant of the online communities 
which now exist and ignorant of the technologies they seek to regulate. 

We are concerned because this ignorance extends to the means available for 
such measures to be undetectably bypassed, neutralising any possible positive 
benefits the proposals may have and leaving only their sorry side effects. 

We are concerned because policy is being developed without due consultation 
with those it will most affect. 

We are concerned because policies now being proposed do not adequately protect 
our freedom of speech, our freedom of assembly or our privacy. 

We are concerned because these policies endanger the safety and liberty of 
Australian citizens, diminish Australia's industrial competitiveness, harm the 
education of Australian children and lower Australia in the esteem of other 
nations. 

We urge you to reject any such flawed policies and to reject the flawed 
methods by which such policies are made. In particular, we urge you to reject 
the legislative measures presently being proposed by the NSW State Government.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Karl Auer                                +61-6-2494627 (bh)
kauer@pcug.org.au                        +61-6-2486607 (ah)
Home page: http://www.pcug.org.au/~kauer/