I'm genuinely curious. I came across an article today talking about how a soon-to-be released video game (the latest iteration of Mortal Kombat, for those of you who care 
) has been effectively censored in Australia; it's illegal to sell it in the country, and customs has been ordered to seize any copy entering Australian territory.
) has been effectively censored in Australia; it's illegal to sell it in the country, and customs has been ordered to seize any copy entering Australian territory.Sure, some people are quite upset about this, but no-one's really marching in the streets demanding an R18+ rating on video games or anything. The problem is that most people over 30 don't really care about this, so it's not a political issue at the moment.
This, and the subsequent trip to a Wikipedia article on censorship in Australia, got me thinking. By American standards (and no doubt those of many other countries, but I'm sticking to what I know), a great deal of things that go on in Australia are positively Orwellian. For instance:
"The Melbourne bookstore Polyester Books, which stocks unusual books of many genres, has been raided by police on two occasions for violation of censorship laws. In addition, several adult book stores have been raided by more than 60 police in Sydney. Australian customs also actively seeks and seizes books imported by individuals.
Many recent contemporary teen novels have been banned due to depictions of teens meeting strangers in chat rooms and then planning to meet them in real life." (Wikipedia)
And
"Australia lacks an explicitly protected form of freedom of speech. Some individuals possess limited forms of free speech, such as parliamentarians in session, University lecturers in a lecture, or people speaking in a designated domain for speeches. In the late 1990s the High Court of Australia found that there was an implied right of free speech in relation to political or economic matters." (Also Wikipedia)
There is a push in some quarters to introduce a Bill of Rights in Oz, which would legislate for freedom of the press, but again, it's not really front page news at the moment.
Now, I am far too lazy to actually do legitimate research on this topic (as evidenced by my use of Wikipedia ) when I can just come to RAFO and ask Australians/people familiar with Kangarooland themselves. Is this sort of thing a Big Deal in Australia?
) when I can just come to RAFO and ask Australians/people familiar with Kangarooland themselves. Is this sort of thing a Big Deal in Australia? It's just very confusing to me.
Sorry I couldn't go in to more detail or anything, but the fact is that this stuff doesn't really get discussed at a political level down here. I guess people don't feel it's impinging on their civil liberties too much yet, and the fact that the government plans to introduce a Carbon Tax, less than a year after promising not to, is the big issue.
*MySmiley*
I have nothing to add. I just wanted to be included in this thread.
I have nothing to add. I just wanted to be included in this thread.
Can someone explain Australian perspectives on free speech to me?
- 17/04/2011 08:30:58 AM
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Honestly, not really
- 17/04/2011 12:55:07 PM
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In addition to what LadyLorraine said...
- 18/04/2011 09:00:33 AM
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Well, I meant to focus more on the banning of books, but yes, good point. *NM*
- 18/04/2011 06:40:34 PM
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its a shame that talking isn't taxed, it'd shut some gas bags i know up
- 18/04/2011 06:48:35 PM
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