KEY POINTS:
Industry and the Government are gearing up to fight a war on the spam that accounts for more than 90 per cent of email traffic.
Telecom said a huge spam assault on Xtra's email network was to blame for some emails taking days to be delivered in recent weeks.
"We are fronting on a global basis another spam war," said Mark Ratcliffe, Telecom's chief operating officer.
Spam is growing aggressively. Anti-spam legislation - the Unsolicited Electronics Messages Bill - aims to prevent New Zealand becoming a haven for spammers and provides a basis for international co-operation.
Information Technology Minister David Cunliffe said spam accounted for more than 90 per cent of email traffic.
The bill - expected to be enacted in mid-2007 - proposes to expand the powers of a monitoring agency, understood to be the Department of Internal Affairs, to clamp down on domestic spam and monitor the spam industry.
It also provides for penalties of up to $500,000 for spam organisations and $200,000 for individuals. Also, Internet New Zealand, with the Marketing Association and the Telecommunications Carriers Forum, is to release a draft anti-spam code of practice for internet companies. It would require them to provide information to customers about ways to deal with spam and how companies can work with the Department of Internal Affairs.
Internet New Zealand executive director Keith Davidson said that up until now, internet companies had been solely responsible for fighting spam.
"There has been nothing to stop spammers coming to New Zealand and setting up, except for the intolerance of the internet companies towards their activities. Luckily Government saw, in its wisdom, and as a result of our submission, that a central monitoring agency was required."
The legislation would not make any real difference to the quantity of spam, but it was "part of co-operation internationally to make it harder".
Spam buster
Unsolicited Electronics Messages Bill
* Expands powers of monitoring agency to crack down on domestic spam.
* Provides for financial penalties of up to $500,000 for spam organisations and $200,000 for individuals.
* Expected to come into force next year.
