Wow, wow, wow. I just left the National Press Club where Minister of Communications @AnikaWells spoke. She repeatedly and brazenly lied about the fake accounts, claiming they were only for enforcement, even though the legislation says in black and white that the eSafety Commissioner can use them in unlimited ways for "educational" and "promotional" purposes. One big moment came when a Politico reporter got up and said something about how mean people like @PaulineHansonOz were to eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant. Seriously. A supposed reporter was white-knighting for a government official during the official Q&A. The same reporter had come up to me before Wells' speech and asked if I had criticized Inman-Grant. Who needs government censors when you have Politico? After he asked his question, Wells showed the most emotion, describing online criticism of Inman-Grant as "abuse." She also talked about her own staff's supposed suffering. I kid you not. The mask dropped, and you could see what really upset her: people — including a sitting Senator — criticizing government officials. After gaslighting the audience about fake accounts, Wells repeatedly insisted the government wasn't trying to censor content. She said this after filling her speech with examples of content she claimed harmed people. You couldn't make it up. This legislation is the culmination of decades of progressives equating words with physical violence. Wells cynically compared her legislation to prevent psychological "harm" to various laws that protect people from physical harm, like seat belt laws. BTW, Wells never said what content it was that she thought caused eating disorders. Pictures of skinny women? Dietary advice? Who knows. Nobody asked. Another important moment came when Wells explicitly said Australia would be pursuing censorship alongside other nations, including the UK, France, and Spain—all countries where governments risk losing power to populists. I spoke with Julie Inman-Grant before the speech began and asked about the fake accounts. She insisted they were there just for enforcement, and when I asked why the law allowed them to be used for government propaganda, she said she might write an "enforcement memo," which, of course, would have no impact on the legislation. After her speech, I went up to Wells and asked if she was seriously saying the legislation didn't allow the government to use fake accounts for government propaganda. She refused to answer. A man who said he was from the National Press Club stepped in front of me and said I could interview her afterward. But that wasn't possible because they rushed her out the back to avoid any difficult questions. So there you have it. The pettiest people in Australia are seeking to silence citizens and their political opponents in the name of protecting children. These deeply intolerant and cynical people want to control what you can see and say online. And they're doing it with most of the media's support. Australia has reached a new low in its rapid descent into dogmatism, intolerance, and censorship.

Based With Senator Alex Antic - Episode 44 – Michael Shellenberger @shellenberger – Digital Duty of Care Michael Shellenberger is a leading investigative journalist well known for his work on the Twitter Files. He is the founder and president of Civilization Works, a nonprofit that incubates ideas, leaders, and movements, and cofounder of the California Peace Coalition. Michael is a fierce advocate for freedom of speech, and in 2024 he campaigned extensively against the Labor Government’s proposed “Mis and Dis Information” laws. His work played a major role in ensuring those proposed laws were never introduced into the Parliament. A previous guest on Based Podcast, on this episode Senator Antic and Michael discuss the serious and frightening reality of the Government’s dystopian “Digital Duty of Care” Bill, the state of freedom of speech online both in Australia and around the world, and the dwindling support for the near defunct “climate change” scare narrative.

Warren makes a welcome contrast to the career politicians being served up by the uniparty in Victoria.

When Bronte Gossling from @smh reached out to interview me for a hit piece, I recorded the phone call to expose the paper's hidden agendas and biased reporting. She was so exposed by this "interview" where I turned the tables that her hit piece never eventuated, and instead the nine newspapers had to rely on her colleague writing an op-ed hit job instead. The conclusion of the call is hilarious. When I ask "do you have any final words for my viewers?" - her response is priceless 🤭