The Federal Government should abandon its plan to censor the internet and develop a new policy, not simply put it off until after the election for political expediency, the Australian Greens say.

"I am delighted to hear that the Prime Minister has put Senator Stephen Conroy's unworkable plan on the backburner, but they need to go a step further and just hit delete," Senator Scott Ludlam, Greens telecommunications spokesperson said today.

"Merely putting it off because it's massively unpopular is a cynical pre-election clearing of the decks. The Government needs to clearly indicate that it's going to scrap the idea completely and work on a new policy in collaboration with all stakeholders.

"Opposition against the internet filter is widespread because it will do precisely nothing to curb the distribution of illegal material online, while establishing the architecture for greater government censorship in the future.

"Groups as diverse as EFA, Save the Children, Reporters Without Borders, the US State Department and Google have agreed," Senator Ludlam said.

Media Contact: Fernando de Freitas 0417 174 302