Teaser:
THE Coalition and the Greens are united in their support for optional internet filters being made available to households, creating a sharp contrast with Labor's commitment to a mandatory filter put in place by internet service providers.
Both parties are hoping to capitalise on unrest about Labor's filter plan, which has been attacked for creating a platform for internet censorship and potentially slowing internet speeds, though both criticisms have been rejected by the government.
A long internal battle was fought in the Coalition over the mandatory filter. Ultimately the anti-mandatory filter elements, headed by the shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey, won, leading to him - rather than the communications spokesman, Tony Smith - revealing the new policy in a radio interview a fortnight ago.
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The full policy, released by Mr Smith last week, commits $60 million to provide computer-based filters to households, harking back to the downloadable filter introduced by the Howard government but scrapped by Labor.
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