"The spectre of broadscale Internet censorship in Australia has been covered previously here on The Next Web before, but many outside Australia may wonder: why should you care if you don’t live in Australia..."

"...In October Stallman will visit Australia to speak — among other events — at UNSW’s Clancy Auditorium in an event being supported by National ICT Australia. But we got in touch with Stallman ahead of time for a chat about the Government’s internet filter project, free software and why he likes to visit Australia for its parrots..."

Communications Minister Stephen Conroy's censorship policy won him the Internet Villain of the Year trophy, awarded by the British internet industry.

It's tax time in Australia. Three weeks into the new financial year, now is about the time when people have all their documentation ready to give the government its yearly pound of flesh. But for Linux users there's no joy again.

Australia's Labor government doggedly plods on with their hugely unpopular plan to censor the internet. Other governments will be watching their efforts with unhealthy interest.

Linux Australia assert they are the peak body for Linux user groups around Australia and represent some 5,000 Australian Linux users and developers. Yet, the 2009 elections roused a mere 66 voters. Why didn't people vote? (And, in a related incident, why can't I please all the people all the time?)

Australia's biggest technology companies, communications academics and many lobby groups have delivered a withering critique of the government's plans to censor the internet.

Many open source licences are only two or three paragraphs long and read more like a manifesto than a traditional software licence.

I have the information for those of you *who live in Australia* and who wish to send comments to Standards Australia. You can find a link to the template you need to use here. Or just download it. You fill it in and send it to Michael Langdon, Project Manager, Commerce at Standards Australia, michael.langdon at standards.org.au by the deadline, which is Tuesday