The NSW Democrats claim they were -gazumped" by the State Government when the NSW Internet Censorship Bill was -passed by default" in Parliament this week.

Although the government had agreed that it would accept a motion that schedule 2 (the Online Services section) of the Bill be referred to a Parliamentary Committee for inquiry, the Democrats' Arthur Chesterfield-Evans wasn't present before Parliament in time to move the motion, nor was The Greens representative Lee Rhiannon. In their absence, the State Government took the opportunity to push the Bill through.

"We were gazumped," a spokesperson for Chesterfield-Evans told ZDNet Australia. "We were totally caught off guard."

However, in a win for the NSW Democrats and The Greens, united in their opposition of a Bill that will criminalise Internet material unsuitable for children even if it was only made available to adults, NSW Attorney-General Bob Debus has given a commitment that the Bill will not be proclaimed and will be referred, in its entirety, to a Parliamentary Committee for inquiry and report by June 7, 2002.

"I have been approached by a number of interested parties from the media and the Internet industry, among other groups, expressing concerns in relation to the Bill," Debus said in a letter to the Chair of the committee.

-Given the unique nature of the Internet it would appear that further consideration and consultation on the provisions of the Bill is desirable. In the circumstances, I consider that it would be appropriate for the Standing Committee on Social Issues to give further consideration to the provisions of the Bill and their legal and social impact," he added.

A spokesperson for The Greens said that a lot of Internet businesses in NSW had called the government to express their concerns and "that really got them worried".

"We have had a win on that," he added. -If the inquiry finds, as we argue, that the Bill is very highly flawed, it could bring forward amendments to the Bill before it comes into effect."

According to The Greens, Labor's Bill introduces -unprecedented anti-Internet bias" and it would make it -prohibitively difficult to even put 'R' material on the Net, which could include valuable information on topics such as suicide, mental illness or homophobia". The Greens believe this would curtail individual freedom and by no means protect vulnerable Internet users such as children

Asked if The Greens were confident that the Bill would be passed with appropriate amendments to it, the spokesperson added said that government's delaying the proclamation of the law was a positive sign. -We are fairly confident now," he said. -Once government is committed to a political course of action it's usually hard to turn them around."

The Democrats described the Bill as -absolutely useless".

"Providing protection for children from harmful material, as covered in the legislation, would not work," Chesterfield-Evans' spokesperson said.

The Democrats would not comment on the likelihood of the inquiry having a positive outcome. -The government has no obligation whatsoever to take on the recommendations of any committee," the spokesperson said.

An interim report may be released in May 2002.

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