Update May 12, 2009: Click here for information on filtering in the 2009-10 Budget.

Labor will spend $126 million over four years on their Cyber-Safety plan which Senator Conroy says will create a safer online environment for Australian children. That’d be nice if Mr Conroy’s idea of cyber safety didn’t include mandatory ISP filtering for all Australians.

The Cyber-Safety Plan will provide a range of initiatives to combat online threats and protect children from inappropriate material on the internet, through activities such as an education program for teachers and the community, Internet Service Provider level filtering of an expanded Australian Communications and Media Authority blacklist, examination of options to allow families to exclude other unwanted content, a Youth Advisory Group to assist the Government to formulate age-appropriate measures to protect children, an expanded Consultative Working Group focussed on cyber safety issues, a dedicated website for children and research projects on cyber-safety issues.

From 2009-10, Internet Service Providers will receive a one-off subsidy towards the costs of installing Internet Service Providers filters. This funding will largely occur in 2009-10 with funding in following years only for new providers.

Cyber-Safety Plan Expense Breakdown:

Australian Mandatory ISP Filtering Budget

Read the Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Budget.