The Australian Bite

Internet laws & feral foxes

31 January 2010

Listen and download: MP3

Yes the Bite has returned after a lazy summer break, and this week we’ll be taking a look at some of the arguments for and against proposed new federal laws to filter ( in other words censor) what Australians are able to access on the internet .   We’ll hear why feral foxes are growing in numers and becoming a pest not just in rural Australia, but in major cities like Adelaide.  And speaking of the South Australian capital, there’s new music from Adelaide-born singer Sia.

Debate heats up over proposed internet filtering laws

In the upcoming Autumn session of Parliament, Communications Minister Senator Stephen Conroy intends to press ahead with legislation requiring internet companies – ISPs – to block websites that have been classified RC, meaning ‘refused classification’. Advocates of the change believe it will bring material available on the internet in line with books, television, film and magazine regulation – where if classification is refused, the material is simply banned. However some civil liberties groups believe that the proposed new laws should not go ahead, and could be open to abuse.  James Carleton explores both sides of the argument with Clive Hamilton, Professor of Public Ethics at Charles Sturt University and Geordie Guy from the Electronic Frontiers Association – a leading advocacy group for digital civil liberties.

Read more from Clive Hamilton on this topic here

You can read a speech by Senator Conroy on the issue here

And you can find out more about the views of Electronic Frontiers Australia here

Feral foxes on the prowl in Adelaide

A native animal of the United Kingdom, foxes were introduced to Australia in the 1870s for recreational hunting purposes. Since then their numbers have steadily grown, with devastating effects on native wildlife – not to mention lambs, chickens and other farm and domestic animals. But foxes don’t just live in rural Australia. Cities like Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, have become increasingly appealing to a growing number of foxes seeking food and a place to call home. To find out more about the foxes’ behaviour and the problems they cause, reporter Brett Williamson spoke to Phil Elson from the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board.

You can listen to an extended version of this interview on the ABC Adelaide website

And if you’re interested in finding out more about the impact of foxes and fox control click here to go to the website of the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board.

Music (not in podcast)

Adelaide born pop singer Sia Furler – who goes simply by the name of Sia, is soon to release her fifth studio album called We Are Born. This is the first single from it. You can check out the single below on you tube if you like – it’s cute!

Artist: Sia

Track: You’ve Changed

Album: We Are Born (due for release in April 2010)

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