When asked "Do you agree with the Federal Government's policy to make ISP level filtering mandatory for all Australians?" 79% either disagreed or strongly disagreed.
Any measure that limits access to the network is unlawful unless it meets the strict requirements established by international standards for such actions. The rapporteurs argued that freedom of expression must apply to the Internet in the same way it applies to all other media.
Australia has scored highly for internet freedom in its first appearance on a Freedom House report into 37 countries, but violation of user rights and lack of access for some users were cited as concerns.
Senator Conroy was supportive of the internet's role in promoting freedom to express political views but agreed with Clinton's observation that "societies recognise that freedom of expression has its limits".
"Australians have always recognised that there is some content which is not acceptable in any civilised society," he said.
Internet Industry Association chief executive Peter Coroneos - who retires from his role this week - denied the Interpol filter would see a form of censorship reach Australia's internet sector. "This is not censorship; this is law enforcement cooperation around material which is illegal to possess," he said. "We've been at pains to try and distance this initiative from the Government's mandatory filtering scheme."