The problem lies in a small number of politicians holding the swing vote in our policy making. Unfortunately one of the main players is "Family First", a conservative Christian political group who are basically trying to impose 'good christian values' on all Australians. So to get a major parties policies through, they do 'deals' with these minor groups, like supporting extreme censorship.
You can read more about this wonderful group here http://www.familyfirst.org.au/Policies.htm
Some things they oppose include abortion, euthenasia, cloning, needle exchange programs for drug users, unfiltered internet pornography...
It saddens me that our current politicians do not see the damage such policies will have in the future. They are trading our future freedom to ensure their current political aspirations are met.