Gippsland › Latest news › Russell Broadbent MP

Australians must oppose Labor bill that restricts free speech, unchecks bureaucratic power, legalises surveillance and censorship

Labor's censorship bill threatens free speech, grants unchecked power to bureaucrats, and legalises surveillance and censorship. Australians must oppose this dangerous legislation that stifles dissenting voices and undermines democracy.

By news@gippsland - 4th July 2023 - Back to News

Hello. Russell Broadbent here - Member for Monash. This is not one of my regular Just As I See It broadcasts. It's a plea to every Australian to understand the consequences of Labor's plans to not only impede free speech, but to become the sole decider of what's true and what's false. The Albanese government plans to introduce a chilling new law to combat so-called misinformation and disinformation on social media platforms.

Protect Free Speech: Labor's censorship bill threatens democracy, empowers unelected bureaucrats, and silences dissenting voices. Take action now!

Dire Bill endangers democracy

This is nothing short of legalising state-sanctioned surveillance and censorship. In my decades of service to the Australian Parliament, I have never known such a dangerous Bill. This is a terrifying prospect and an affront to our democratic way of life. It should shock and disturb every Australian.

This new law would designate unelected government bureaucrats and politicians to determine if your views are deemed 'misinformation' or 'disinformation'! But wait for it, content from government agencies and educational institutions will be exempt from this legislation! This sounds like North Korea or China - not Australia! And not just that - the government will also determine the penalty or punishment, which can include massive fines and even imprisonment.

This bill will allow the Australian Communications and Media Authority to compel Australian and foreign tech companies to keep records of matters relating to misinformation and disinformation, and to give this data to our government when requested. In other words, keep records of the people who say the wrong thing - whatever that is, according to the government of the day.

Government's alarming control

No government should ever have this type of power or control. Mind you, this law will simply legalise the surveillance and censorship of thousands of Australians over the past three years. Even though it didn't get much coverage on mainstream TV, we now know the Australian government sought the assistance of foreign big tech giants to spy and report on Australians who didn't comply with the government's narrative on covid vaccines.

And I was one of those people. Last year one of my parliamentary speeches was removed by YouTube because I violated their community guidelines - apparently because I dared to ask what might be causing Australia's excess deaths. Doctors and other medical practitioners have had their Twitter and Facebook accounts suspended for sharing concerns about the covid vaccine's safety and efficacy.

I've also heard from hundreds of vaccine-injured people who've had their heartbreaking posts deemed 'misinformation' and deleted by Facebook. As stated by Nick Cater in his commentary for the Australian on Monday 3 July: "John Stuart Mill once said: 'All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.' Yet we know from bitter experience that the cabal of health experts and self-interested premiers who sought to control the Covid narrative were all too capable of making grave mistakes."

Safeguarding democracy: Act!

The government is now seeking feedback on their proposed "misinformation" and "disinformation" censorship legislation, and I urge you to respond to the petition via the link below. I'm also interested to hear if you've experienced censorship on your social media account too - especially if you've had content censored or deemed 'misinformation' or 'disinformation'.

Over the past three and a half years, Australia has made international headlines for all the wrong reasons including mandates to take an experimental vaccine, censorship of doctors, closure of borders and now blatant surveillance and censorship of the public.

I'm calling it out now. As I see it, we're on a very slippery slope and I will oppose this Bill with all my might. The government is seeking feedback on their proposed "misinformation" and "disinformation" censorship legislation. I urge you to let them know your thoughts in the 'New ACMA powers to combat misinformation and disinformation' page.

Pictures from Russell Broadbent MP Facebook page.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com