Censorship in Australia

[Vekseid]

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2927840.htm

Quite unannounced, the Rudd Government has imposed fines totalling thousands of dollars as a result of raids on adult shops, forcing some out of business and sending the proprietor of a retailer in Sydney's Oxford Street to prison for three months.

The sentence was imposed by a Sydney Magistrate for selling blue movies and confirmed on appeal. The proprietor Daryl Cohen began his sentence last month.

He is, as far as can be established, the first person to go to prison for the victimless crime of pornography for more than 60 years.

...

Oi.

[Wolfy]

Quick, Vek! Move your porn ring to America! D:

....But seriously, Wow. O-o

[Revolverman]

Its getting bad down under.

It's strange though. The Government is really hyper moralist, but the people couldn't give two shits about this stuff.

[Vekseid]

Nutjobs are always pissed when they aren't in control. The only time regular people have a problem is when they are. It creates cycles.

[Wolfy]

Hmm..Didn't that Crazy guy on the Video Games Ratings board for Australia get canned or something?...I think he did...I know he's the reason why Austalia doesn't get games like Left4Dead 2 or others, or if they do, they're heavily censored.

[Question Mark]

I am of the strongest conviction that censorship of any kind is one of the highest crimes a government can commit.  Even though I don't live there, Australia's government infuriates me to no end.

[TheWriter]

Yeesh, Veks, a little late to the party there.  Yeah, the situation sucks.  That's what happens when the balance of power in Parliament is held by fundamentalist won't-someone-please-think-of-the-children parties like Family First.

Also, it's important to note that Kevin Rudd (as in, the Rudd government) is no longer our Prime Minister.  He was ousted by his party, not necessarily over this particular incident, but using the same heavy handed tactics in other areas.  On top of that, it's led to Australia's first female (caretaker) Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. 

But wait, it gets better: there's an election in a week's time, and if the opinion polls are anything to go by, even if they do remain in power the Rudd Gillard government is destined not to have the same ludicrous amount of control over Parliament they've had in recent years.  And if the growing opposition to the planned broadband internet filter is anything to go by, the Australian public's just starting to find its voice.  Heck, even the very idea of the filter has led to a much more active participation in politics of the more open minded Australians, and the creation of national entities like the Australian Sex Party and grassroots movements like Gamers 4 Croydon.

Hmm..Didn't that Crazy guy on the Video Games Ratings board for Australia get canned or something?...I think he did...I know he's the reason why Austalia doesn't get games like Left4Dead 2 or others, or if they do, they're heavily censored.

Yes, he stood down.  Public submissions have been taken on the matter of an R18+ video games rating, and are at the moment being evaluated by the Standing Committee of Attorneys General (minus that one guy).

[Vekseid]

A little late? I made the thread a month and a half ago.

[Wolfy]

A little late? I made the thread a month and a half ago.

Better late than never, right? :D

[Mystique]

I'm very late but the issue of censorship has been a nagging concern. As can be seen, the porn police have been busy. If an adult shop can’t sell porn, then who can?

The last I checked, the internet filter idea in its original form went downhill though the argument is emotive and will no doubt resurface especially when they try to implement the reduced version of the filter next year. So far they are planning on blocking around 450 child abuse websites identified by the Australian Classification Board (ACB). If the sites are what they say they are, I don’t have issues with them being blocked.

However, I do have issues with the ACB in terms of their credibility. They seem to have some strange ideas. For example, earlier this year there was talk of issuing a ban on porn containing small breasted women (movies, magazines). Adding to that the obscenity rule attempts to ban content depicting female orgasm... why? Because it looks similar to golden shower which is classified as obscene. One wonders where they get their experts from. Also, one wonders whether any on ACB had been with a woman for their apparent inability to distinguish a golden shower from orgasm :D. Then there is the idea of customs searching traveller’s laptops for porn. If that’s not an invasion of privacy I don’t know what is. At this rate we’ll be banning Dihydrogen Monoxide soon.

The government should start listening to the people more than to a few outspoken individuals. It is people driven at the end of the day and so hopefully there will be some changes come this Saturday - elections.

[TheWriter]

Also, that election?  Hung parliament.  Neither party were particularly good; first time that's happened in seventy years.