Proud to be a Kiwi. Shame on you Australia

Today I’m proud of our Government in New Zealand, and horrified at the one they have in Canberra.

After the concerted #blackout campaign earlier this year the NZ government halted the implementation of the Section 92A bill that dealt very harshly with alleged copyright infringement.

Today they came back with a proposed changed Section 92A, which removed much of the problematic language.

David Farrar sums it up well, but the biggest wins for me are:

1. Copyright holders will pay a fee for each accusation. This will stop the USA based RIAA and MPAA spamming accusations at domestic ISPs.
2. Temporary Internet Termination can only happen when ordered by a court, not by the Copyright Tribunal or an ISP (unless you don’t pay your bills of course)
3. Users can stay anonymous until the court stage

All in all it’s a pretty balanced outcome, though David has identified a few flaws. Do read his post.

Meanwhile the Australian Government announced yesterday, that in spite of a concerted consumer campaign against it, they will be mandating an Australian Firewall. Do read this article to understand more on why it is bad, and how it is purely politically driven. It’s an appalling move – reminiscent of totalitarian regimes.

Here’s what the public think – it’s a biased poll but, well 95% is pretty compelling:

I’m glad I live here. Well done to everyone in the government – and to the opposition.