Without more government funding that isn't likely to be approved until May, the Australian government's Internet porn watchdog NetAlert says they'll have little choice but to close up cybershop at month's end - just as one outspoken supporter in Australia's Senate warned earlier this month could happen.
"The (NetAlert) board has made a decision that without further funding - or advice regarding funding - then from March 31 wind-up proceedings will begin as a matter of course," said executive director Alan Tayt in an official March 20 announcement. The group was said to be seeking a $10 million (AU) budget for the coming three years.
NetAlert was created in 1999 as an independent advisory board to the government on Internet education, safety, and access management issues, with cyberporn access probably the group's prime concern.
But Tayt and his group have been battling over government funding increases for several months. Earlier this month, a mild controversy exploded over comments Tayt was said to have made to the Australian press, charging the government with "ignoring" pleas for more funding. Tayt responded that "at no point" did he or anyone with NetAlert make that kind of suggestion.
"At no stage has NetAlert had any concerns the Federal Government has not had a full understanding of the organisation's position," Tayt said on March 6. "Like many publicly funded organisations, NetAlert must wait until the Federal Budget to know its fate and we are content to do this.''
NetAlert has had at least one vociferous ally in Australia's Senate. On the same date when Tayt made his rejoinder, Sen. Kate Lundy blasted the government for "shoddy treatment" of the cyber-watchdogs. "(T)heir operation has been run on the smell of an oily rag," the Labor Party lawmaker from the Australian Capital Territory said, "and if more funding is not secured will commence procedings to wind up, possibly as early as the end of March."
Lundy accused the government of ignoring the Internet's realities, including safe Web surfing for children, and "irresponsibly suggesting that a magic wand exists to make the Internet "safe" to the satisfaction of every family. This is unrealistic...Unwanted internet content is of concern to all parents, and that is why Labor believes the Government should assist them in learning how to operate the Internet safely. It should not be put in the 'too hard' basket."
Three days earlier, Lundy lamented that Australia's government seemed more inclined toward censorship than the kind of practical solutions "empowering families to manage their Internet content in accordance with their own principles and views," the approach seen taken by NetAlert.
Also in early March, NetAlert cautioned that there would be no easy way to keep children away from cyberporn, that in the wake of a report from the Australian Institute saying teenagers were getting more cyberporn access than people believed. That report ignited a small storm between researchers, lawmakers, and public interest groups over whether the government needed to take a firmer hand in controlling cyberporn.
"Software applications can also assist - such as anti-spy, anti-spam and anti-virus software and filters - but they are only part of the solution," Tayt said in the wake of the AI report. "The bottom line is that ultimate responsibility lies with parents and care(givers) and the best results come from effective communications and trust."
NetAlert was scheduled to put forth their 2003-04 operating budget in May, the group said - but they were also told it would take three months to shut down its offices and activities, and that not even a funding hike approved in May could stop the shutdown.
The original NetAlert board was a three-year period starting in 1999, under Australia's Online Services Act. The board was extended until June 31, a published report said, while Australian communications minister Richard Alston's department reviewed the law's operation. A report due in January has still not been presented formally, that report said.
