1) First up, I had to sign an online ePetition. Below, the picture shows a screen confirming my signature. I chose a petition which was aiming to decriminalize abortion in Queensland. So far, 618 people have signed and the poll closes on the 23rd of October.
SOURCE: CLICK HERE if you want to sign an epetition, too, and stand up for something you care for :)
2) Once that was done, I now had to respond to a professional blogger on a news site. I went straight to www.news.com.au for all things news, finding many professional bloggers who were potential candidates for my task. I found one lady at the top of the list called Bossy. She was trying to help a girl out who was complaining about colleagues drinking coffee from her coffee mug. I had to respond to this, even though I find this blog to be so incredibly pointless. The requirements for this task didn't include to respond seriously, so I commented the blog with "I can't believe it's not butter", under the screen name 'Yours Truly'. Here's the link to the blog: http://blogs.news.com.au/bossy/index.php/news/comments/how_can_i_stop_them_using_my_coffee_cup/
3) For this task, I had to do a little stalking and find out what the president of the YOU ESS of AYEEEE was up to. While I was slaving away at uni and work on the 23rd of September, Mr. Barack Obama did his first speech at the United Nations (I wonder if he gets as nervous as I do about public speaking?) His presentation took the form of a motivational speech and revolved around his main message: we must work together globally to solve the world's issues at hand, such as global warming and the recession. Long live Obama!
4) Number four had me familiarizing myself with my local state and federal representatives.
- The member for Southport is Peter Lawlor. Here's the source: http://www.peterlawlor.com.au/southport/pages/posts/Active-Communities-Project584.php
- The local representative for Parkwood is Dawn Crichlow
- This one was easy- the member of the state? Anna Bligh of course - the same woman who put the damn petrol prices up!!!!! Check out her official website and leave a nasty comment for me, will you? http://www.thepremier.qld.gov.au/
- The state representative is Peter Lawlor
- Ooh, another easy one. The federal representative is the ever-so-loveable Kevin '07! Click here to check out K-Rudd's site: http://www.thepremier.qld.gov.au/. The federal representative for Gold Coast is Hon. Ronald Bosworth
5) Okay, so this one I found hard: I had to research the last time Peter Lawlor spoke in parliament. We were supposed to go to the Queensland Hanson (which you can find via http://parlinfo.parliament.qld.gov.au/ISYSHanSimp.htm) but I figured the best (and easiest) place to go would be his very own website. Luckily, I hit the jackpot first time round, discovering that the last time he spoke was on the 22nd of September, to address the negative effects that the tourism industry is suffering from due to the current economic climate. I honestly think that this speech is actually just a public relations stunt in favour of the labor party. Thanks to the internet, I was able to contact Mr. Lawlor. I told him that I supported the advertising campaigns trying to boost the tourism flow into Queensland, however, I expressed my concern about whether or not the money invested into campaign would be returned through visitor expenditure (www.peterlawlor.com.au) You can also contact Peter yourself about labor policy. Below is the form found on his website that you can use...
6) The last question on the task asked for my opinion on the Rudd government's plan to censor the internet (the so-called "clean feed").
Personally, I don't like this idea. I can definately see why the government is considering this safety precaution, especially since the internet is becoming more and more accessible, particularly to young children, too. On the downside, I believe this is just another way the government wants to gain control. Once they start blocking content, they won't stop. As citizens, we pay for our internet access, therefore we should have complete control over it. Not to mention, the government may decide to up the internet charges for unnecessary censoring. We already pay top dollar, in comparison to other countries, for a less than average services. Below is an article on this same topic. If you want to read more, click here: http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/30/australia-joins-china-in-censoring-the-internet/
"The Australian Government has announced that they will be joining China as one of the few countries globally that broadly censor the internet.As recently as the week prior to the election, Labor Party candidates were telling those concerned
about the proposed law that the censorship wouldn’t be compulsory, and that the “clean feed” would be opt-in, not opt-out. Today’s announcement by Telecommunications Minister Stephen Conroy states that the censorship regime will be mandatory, although people will be able to opt-out of it. The problem of course then becomes if you opt-out questions will be asked as to why you want out, which in itself may lead to Government monitoring.To be censored by the Australian Government is “pornography and inappropriate material.” X rated pornography is illegal online in Australia, as are casino style internet gambling, certain forms of “hate” speech and R rated computer games. BitTorrent would be a possibility, even if certain downloads for personal use may be legal under Australian law, sharing those downloads would not be."7) All this talk about the government and censorship poses a new question: What place does censorship have in democracy?
Self regulation is the key to avoid government interference in private media. A national debate is needed on issues like these as otherwise it gets misinterpreted as censorship. In the 21st century and in the our democracy, censorship is not the right path for the educated. And as far as a content code is concerned, only when it is accepted would there be a debate on who will implement the same.
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