Living Under Australian Censorship
March 15, 2011 5:37 PM Subscribe
How do I oppose and deal with censorship in Australia? The Australian government has just announced it'll fine people $100,000 if they import Mortal Kombat. I'm not asking how to import it, but what if I want to import something else on the banned list? What do I do if the government decides something I say is illegal? And what organizations can I join to defend free speech in Australia?
what if I want to import something else on the banned list?
That would also be a crime.
What do I do if the government decides something I say is illegal?
Retain a solicitor.
And what organizations can I join to defend free speech in Australia?
If you're concerned about video games, the EFF may be a good start. If you'd like to incite religious hatred, Catch the Fire have you covered. If you actually wanted to effect change, I'd say the ALP would be the best organisation to join.
posted by pompomtom at 5:55 PM on March 15, 2011
That would also be a crime.
What do I do if the government decides something I say is illegal?
Retain a solicitor.
And what organizations can I join to defend free speech in Australia?
If you're concerned about video games, the EFF may be a good start. If you'd like to incite religious hatred, Catch the Fire have you covered. If you actually wanted to effect change, I'd say the ALP would be the best organisation to join.
posted by pompomtom at 5:55 PM on March 15, 2011
Response by poster: I've talked to the EFF but they don't seem to do much.
If you actually wanted to effect change, I'd say the ALP would be the best organisation to join.
The party that wants an Internet filter?
What can I do to get people fired up about this? To make Free Speech an issue that people are concerned about?
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 5:57 PM on March 15, 2011
If you actually wanted to effect change, I'd say the ALP would be the best organisation to join.
The party that wants an Internet filter?
What can I do to get people fired up about this? To make Free Speech an issue that people are concerned about?
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 5:57 PM on March 15, 2011
The party that wants an Internet filter?
Absolutely. Do you think you'll change ALP policy from the outside?
posted by pompomtom at 6:00 PM on March 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
Absolutely. Do you think you'll change ALP policy from the outside?
posted by pompomtom at 6:00 PM on March 15, 2011 [3 favorites]
Actually, that EFF site has a few suggestions listed.
posted by pompomtom at 6:05 PM on March 15, 2011
posted by pompomtom at 6:05 PM on March 15, 2011
Your question highlights the ridiculous situation around games classification and the steadfast (completely illogical) refusal to adopt an R18+ rating and more broadly how poor protections for free speech are in Australia.
Do not join the ALP. They are a major part of the problem. There are a number of organisations which lobby around civil liberties you can join. If you must join a political party the Greens have a much stronger record around these issues.
As a side not, I do not believe that Australian Customs have jurisdiction on internet downloads and there may be websites where you can legally pay for and download such games (without physically importing a copy). Don't quote me on that though, you'll have to do your own research.
posted by smithsmith at 7:10 PM on March 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Do not join the ALP. They are a major part of the problem. There are a number of organisations which lobby around civil liberties you can join. If you must join a political party the Greens have a much stronger record around these issues.
As a side not, I do not believe that Australian Customs have jurisdiction on internet downloads and there may be websites where you can legally pay for and download such games (without physically importing a copy). Don't quote me on that though, you'll have to do your own research.
posted by smithsmith at 7:10 PM on March 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
*side note
posted by smithsmith at 7:11 PM on March 15, 2011
posted by smithsmith at 7:11 PM on March 15, 2011
Well, that's certainly persuasive - given that I had expressed skepticism about how bad of a problem this is for Australians during a global warming discussion, I have to eat some of my words.
Legally speaking, you seem to have pretty limited options as the Australian constitution doesn't have extensive protections for individual rights. but if you were feeling lucky and knew a creative solicitor, you could try challenging the ruling on the basis that you're not a minor, don't have any minor children, and would like to play Mortal Kombat in a minor-free environment...but just because that seems obvious doesn't mean it would stand up in court.
However, I can think of a way to legally mock the illogic of this policy. My understanding is that people object not to the idea of limiting game sales to adults, but that since Australia doesn't have an 18+ rating for videogames. As MK is clearly more explicit than a game one would expect to receive a 15+ rating, the absence of an adult-only rating classification acts as a bar on importing any kind of mature game. But this is not true for films; indeed the rating for films seems to be relatively liberal, albeit less than in the US.
So I'm thinking that what you need to do is get someone to make a film depicting the game Mortal Kombat (not a movie, just a 10 minute 'review' or similar short film), and import copies of that film, and apply for an 18+ rating for it. If you're worried about copyright problems, then dressing up as MK-type characters and using some silly props to make a parody of the game would serve equally well. find out what the cost and procedure of getting a film rated for presentation to a mature audience is, and pursue it; at that point you can draw attention to the silly inconsistency between being able to watch a movie about the game legally, but not being able to play it legally.
posted by anigbrowl at 7:37 PM on March 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Legally speaking, you seem to have pretty limited options as the Australian constitution doesn't have extensive protections for individual rights. but if you were feeling lucky and knew a creative solicitor, you could try challenging the ruling on the basis that you're not a minor, don't have any minor children, and would like to play Mortal Kombat in a minor-free environment...but just because that seems obvious doesn't mean it would stand up in court.
However, I can think of a way to legally mock the illogic of this policy. My understanding is that people object not to the idea of limiting game sales to adults, but that since Australia doesn't have an 18+ rating for videogames. As MK is clearly more explicit than a game one would expect to receive a 15+ rating, the absence of an adult-only rating classification acts as a bar on importing any kind of mature game. But this is not true for films; indeed the rating for films seems to be relatively liberal, albeit less than in the US.
So I'm thinking that what you need to do is get someone to make a film depicting the game Mortal Kombat (not a movie, just a 10 minute 'review' or similar short film), and import copies of that film, and apply for an 18+ rating for it. If you're worried about copyright problems, then dressing up as MK-type characters and using some silly props to make a parody of the game would serve equally well. find out what the cost and procedure of getting a film rated for presentation to a mature audience is, and pursue it; at that point you can draw attention to the silly inconsistency between being able to watch a movie about the game legally, but not being able to play it legally.
posted by anigbrowl at 7:37 PM on March 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Apologies, I am getting off track from the OP's original question on organisations that are working to defend free speech in Australia.
Here is a recent MeFi posting on the MK banning issue.
posted by smithsmith at 7:47 PM on March 15, 2011
Here is a recent MeFi posting on the MK banning issue.
posted by smithsmith at 7:47 PM on March 15, 2011
As a side not, I do not believe that Australian Customs have jurisdiction on internet downloads and there may be websites where you can legally pay for and download such games
I'm not sure this true. While it might not be Customs that have jurisdiction but the AFP, I believe it would still be illegal to posess refused classification (RC) material. In much the same way as it would be download RC pornography, even if it was legal in the country where is was hosted.
As other people have said this doesn't matter so much for one person buying a single copy. It's the large distributors they're after. Also, Mortal Kombat has been submitted to the Board again without alteration in an appeal of its classification. Even if that fails, it's moot if the Attorneys-General bring in a R18+ classification for video games mid-year, as rumoured.
In terms of changing or influencing existing policy, joining one of the political parties or lobby groups and push the issue there is probably your best route. If you find their positions unaceptable, then you're left with starting your own. Try and convince people you know. Start a website and a letter writing campaign.
Good luck!
posted by elephantday at 8:06 PM on March 15, 2011
I'm not sure this true. While it might not be Customs that have jurisdiction but the AFP, I believe it would still be illegal to posess refused classification (RC) material. In much the same way as it would be download RC pornography, even if it was legal in the country where is was hosted.
As other people have said this doesn't matter so much for one person buying a single copy. It's the large distributors they're after. Also, Mortal Kombat has been submitted to the Board again without alteration in an appeal of its classification. Even if that fails, it's moot if the Attorneys-General bring in a R18+ classification for video games mid-year, as rumoured.
In terms of changing or influencing existing policy, joining one of the political parties or lobby groups and push the issue there is probably your best route. If you find their positions unaceptable, then you're left with starting your own. Try and convince people you know. Start a website and a letter writing campaign.
Good luck!
posted by elephantday at 8:06 PM on March 15, 2011
In the first instance, about the R18+ classification for games in Australia, I'd suggest you write to the Commonwealth Attorney-General Robert McLelland and the NSW Attorney-General (currently John Hatzistergos, but who knows who it'll be in a fortnight), to ask them what their and their Departments' responses are going to be to the community consultation last year which showed an 80% public support for an R18+ classification.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 8:14 PM on March 15, 2011
And what organizations can I join to defend free speech in Australia?As well as EFA, I'd also suggest Amnesty International, who stuck up for Albert Langer back in 1996 when he advocated his own special form of vote.
If you must join a political party the Greens have a much stronger record around these issuesBut not a perfect one.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 8:14 PM on March 15, 2011
Response by poster: I was thinking of somehow starting my own third party? The Sex Party is closest to my position. The Greens have their own issues with censorship. Maybe some sort of Freedom Party, or a Tea Party like movement that comes from the Left instead of the right.
In terms of changing or influencing existing policy, joining one of the political parties or lobby groups and push the issue there is probably your best route. If you find their positions unaceptable, then you're left with starting your own. Try and convince people you know. Start a website and a letter writing campaign.
Yeah, that's probably what I'll do. I'm hoping for rallies and demonstrations, but it doesn't seem to be in the Australian character.
Also, what exactly ARE my limits? Should i worry about overstepping them in the course of normal Internet speech?
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 8:17 PM on March 15, 2011
In terms of changing or influencing existing policy, joining one of the political parties or lobby groups and push the issue there is probably your best route. If you find their positions unaceptable, then you're left with starting your own. Try and convince people you know. Start a website and a letter writing campaign.
Yeah, that's probably what I'll do. I'm hoping for rallies and demonstrations, but it doesn't seem to be in the Australian character.
Also, what exactly ARE my limits? Should i worry about overstepping them in the course of normal Internet speech?
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 8:17 PM on March 15, 2011
I was thinking of somehow starting my own third party?
It would hardly be a third party. There are a multitude of parties in Australia. My recommendation to join the ALP was based on the idea that you wanted to change something, rather than simply wanting to feel good about doing something.
Also, what exactly ARE my limits? Should i worry about overstepping them in the course of normal Internet speech?
You have bugger all limits.
The fact that the odd video game doesn't get a rating is hardly evidence of the suppression of political speech. Similarly, the fact that Australia respects the Common Law and hasn't felt the need to spell the rights of citizens out in single-syllable words doesn't mean that these freedoms do not exist. See here for an idea.
posted by pompomtom at 8:37 PM on March 15, 2011
It would hardly be a third party. There are a multitude of parties in Australia. My recommendation to join the ALP was based on the idea that you wanted to change something, rather than simply wanting to feel good about doing something.
Also, what exactly ARE my limits? Should i worry about overstepping them in the course of normal Internet speech?
You have bugger all limits.
The fact that the odd video game doesn't get a rating is hardly evidence of the suppression of political speech. Similarly, the fact that Australia respects the Common Law and hasn't felt the need to spell the rights of citizens out in single-syllable words doesn't mean that these freedoms do not exist. See here for an idea.
posted by pompomtom at 8:37 PM on March 15, 2011
Response by poster: Australians are free, within the bounds of the law, to say or write what we think privately or publicly, about the government, or about any topic. We do not censor the media and may criticise the government without fear of arrest. Free speech comes from facts, not rumours, and the intention must be constructive, not to do harm. There are laws to protect a person's good name and integrity against false information. There are laws against saying or writing things to incite hatred against others because of their culture, ethnicity or background. Freedom of speech is not an excuse to harm others.
Sounds pretty ill-defined and rife with potential pitfalls.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 9:03 PM on March 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
Sounds pretty ill-defined and rife with potential pitfalls.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 9:03 PM on March 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
Why not become an Australian citizen and vote for candidates who share your values?
posted by ActingTheGoat at 9:21 PM on March 15, 2011
posted by ActingTheGoat at 9:21 PM on March 15, 2011
Response by poster: Why not become an Australian citizen and vote for candidates who share your values?
there aren't any. Sex Party is closest, i guess. and i want to let the government know that censorship is NOT ACCEPTABLE
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 9:25 PM on March 15, 2011
there aren't any. Sex Party is closest, i guess. and i want to let the government know that censorship is NOT ACCEPTABLE
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 9:25 PM on March 15, 2011
Sounds pretty ill-defined and rife with potential pitfalls.
Given the existence of defamation law, Schenck v. United States, Citizens United etc etc, and excepting "There are laws against saying or writing things to incite hatred against others because of their culture, ethnicity or background", that exact paragraph could apply to US freedom of speech law.
there aren't any.
Seriously mate, if you can't be arsed voting, maybe you want to rethink your plan to change our laws.
and i want to let the government know that censorship is NOT ACCEPTABLE
If that's your goal, then write them a letter.
posted by pompomtom at 10:00 PM on March 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
Given the existence of defamation law, Schenck v. United States, Citizens United etc etc, and excepting "There are laws against saying or writing things to incite hatred against others because of their culture, ethnicity or background", that exact paragraph could apply to US freedom of speech law.
there aren't any.
Seriously mate, if you can't be arsed voting, maybe you want to rethink your plan to change our laws.
and i want to let the government know that censorship is NOT ACCEPTABLE
If that's your goal, then write them a letter.
posted by pompomtom at 10:00 PM on March 15, 2011 [2 favorites]
And what organizations can I join to defend free speech the right to own and play a game such as Mortal Kombat in Australia?
Check out the groups on the list of organisations who made a submission to the parliamentary review and public consultation into R 18+ Classification for Computer Games. Some of them obviously will not be supporters of an R 18+ classification (Australian Catholic Bishops go on, surprise me) while others will be your natural allies. Contact them.
The right to import a product and the freedom to speak your mind are different issues. You have as much freedom as you like to speak about Mortal Kombat, write about Mortal Combat, leave the country, play Mortal Kombat elsewhere then return to design a community organic garden based on Mortal Kombat, you just currently don't have the legal right to buy or import the game Mortal Kombat into Australia. You can't buy or import plutonium either and does this impact on your freedom to speak your mind?
posted by Kerasia at 11:19 PM on March 15, 2011
Check out the groups on the list of organisations who made a submission to the parliamentary review and public consultation into R 18+ Classification for Computer Games. Some of them obviously will not be supporters of an R 18+ classification (Australian Catholic Bishops go on, surprise me) while others will be your natural allies. Contact them.
The right to import a product and the freedom to speak your mind are different issues. You have as much freedom as you like to speak about Mortal Kombat, write about Mortal Combat, leave the country, play Mortal Kombat elsewhere then return to design a community organic garden based on Mortal Kombat, you just currently don't have the legal right to buy or import the game Mortal Kombat into Australia. You can't buy or import plutonium either and does this impact on your freedom to speak your mind?
posted by Kerasia at 11:19 PM on March 15, 2011
Er, I mean they're after large scale importers for the large fines, you'll probably be fined a few hundred dollars.You might not pay a fine at all. I think the usual deal for Aussies who purchase one banned item mail-order from overseas is that Customs confiscates it (if, of course, they notice it at all...) and send you a letter warning you not to do it again.
The reason why this is "the usual deal", mind you, is because a lot more people try to import plastic Airsoft guns than try to import actual guns. Regardless of the bleatings of Think Of The Children politicians, the system does seem to understand the difference between banned stuff that's actually dangerous and banned stuff that's not.
I think the chance of an Australian being busted for downloading (legally or otherwise) a Refused Classification game (as opposed to truly high-profile banned material like child pornography) is slim to none. If your computer ends up being examined by the cops for some other reason, though, I'd count on them adding posession of a digital murder simulator made by evil foreigners to the list of charges.
posted by dansdata at 11:59 PM on March 15, 2011
"What do I do if the government decides something I say is illegal?" … "I was thinking of somehow starting my own third party?" … "Also, what exactly ARE my limits? Should i worry about overstepping them in the course of normal Internet speech?"As a (presumably) resident non-citizen, the best thing you could do to protect your right to free assembly, free speech (whether you consider it adequate or not), free association, etc, in Australia would be to become a citizen. This would (barring extremely extraordinary circumstances) protect you from revocation of your residental status &/or forced deportation back to your native country if you happen to to break Australian law. This is particularly relevant to cases involving constitutional or Federal law.
See, we're not really different to the USA after all - are we?
Note that, under Australian law, it is also (afaik) impossible for a non-citizen to be an office holder in any political party.
posted by Pinback at 12:29 AM on March 16, 2011
You might not pay a fine at all. I think the usual deal for Aussies who purchase one banned item mail-order from overseas is that Customs confiscates it (if, of course, they notice it at all...) and send you a letter warning you not to do it again.
that's my experience... I got a letter informing me that a package addressed to me had been intercepted by Customs and that the contents were not legal to import or possess without blah blah blah licence and special approval from the minister for whatever or his nominated designee, etc, etc, etc, and that they realised it might have been an honest mistake so wouldn't be taking any further action in this instance but would retain a record of what had happened in case I tried to sneak something past them again... also that I was free to apply for the appropriate approvals and then provide the paperwork if successful...
in the end, the solution was to legally purchase and import a higher powered bench laser instead of the laser pointer I originally bought... the laws about lasers are pretty odd...
posted by russm at 1:39 AM on March 16, 2011
that's my experience... I got a letter informing me that a package addressed to me had been intercepted by Customs and that the contents were not legal to import or possess without blah blah blah licence and special approval from the minister for whatever or his nominated designee, etc, etc, etc, and that they realised it might have been an honest mistake so wouldn't be taking any further action in this instance but would retain a record of what had happened in case I tried to sneak something past them again... also that I was free to apply for the appropriate approvals and then provide the paperwork if successful...
in the end, the solution was to legally purchase and import a higher powered bench laser instead of the laser pointer I originally bought... the laws about lasers are pretty odd...
posted by russm at 1:39 AM on March 16, 2011
Writing letters is a very good way to waste government resources -- provided you do it the right way.
posted by kithrater at 1:53 AM on March 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by kithrater at 1:53 AM on March 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
You've missed the chance to make a submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee's enquiry into Australia's classification scheme (submissions closed 4/3) but when the Australian Law Reform Commission gets around to releasing the terms of reference for its enquiry into the national classification scheme you could make a submission to them.
(apparently the terms of reference are supposed to be on the OFLC's website, but I can't find them there either)
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 2:00 AM on March 16, 2011
(apparently the terms of reference are supposed to be on the OFLC's website, but I can't find them there either)
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 2:00 AM on March 16, 2011
And, as if the existing situation wasn't deranged enough, the ALP is proposing to apply the classification scheme, or at least a modified version of it, to games available online. They're talking about app store games for smartphones, but potentially anything on the Internet could be affected - MMORPGs, Newgrounds flash games, Facebook scrabble clones etc. Technically these are all already subject to the scheme but the OFLC hasn't bothered (or had the resources) to enforce it.
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 2:11 AM on March 16, 2011
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 2:11 AM on March 16, 2011
I was thinking of somehow starting my own third party?
Why not? There are plenty of single-issue or niche-interest parties around.
All it takes is $500 & 500 members to register a political party - all the information you need is here.
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:13 AM on March 16, 2011
Why not? There are plenty of single-issue or niche-interest parties around.
All it takes is $500 & 500 members to register a political party - all the information you need is here.
posted by UbuRoivas at 2:13 AM on March 16, 2011
Do you think you'll change ALP policy from the outside?
The proposed carbon tax is a pretty good indication that doing so works better in practice than changing it from the inside. There is absolutely no way that Gillard would ever have risked the belting she's currently getting for that without the short-and-curlies grip so expertly wielded by the Greens.
Bear in mind at all times that for most Australians, politics is merely another spectator sport whose key feature is not policy but the tribal branding achievable by barracking for the same team our parents did. By and large, Australians do not think about policy; we merely recycle the sound bites and headlines that gain us peer approval. We wear our political opinions like our football colours, and for exactly the same social purpose: it's a bonding thing, it's a mateship thing, it's a beautiful thing. You will get nowhere attempting to shape public opinion without support from some talking-point factory that already has the approval of those you're trying to reach.
Both the major parties are now so utterly focus-group driven that you wouldn't get a ciggy paper between them on policy anyway. This is precisely why they currently attract almost identical numbers of supporters. So if you want to keep Australian politics in its present rather splendid condition, where a small number of comparatively rational progressives actually retains the balance of power, then on no account should you seek to disturb the finely tuned balance of uselessness that the majors have worked so hard for so long to achieve.
Leave them to their endless and meaningless Tweedledum vs. Tweedledee games and get with the mob that has the balance of power. Join the Greens. Write to Tony Windsor, who shows every sign of being able to think. But don't waste your time with the Lib/Nats or the ALP; they exist to serve the 75% people who think locking "terrorist suspects" up without charge in enforced secrecy is a good idea.
posted by flabdablet at 2:50 AM on March 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
The proposed carbon tax is a pretty good indication that doing so works better in practice than changing it from the inside. There is absolutely no way that Gillard would ever have risked the belting she's currently getting for that without the short-and-curlies grip so expertly wielded by the Greens.
Bear in mind at all times that for most Australians, politics is merely another spectator sport whose key feature is not policy but the tribal branding achievable by barracking for the same team our parents did. By and large, Australians do not think about policy; we merely recycle the sound bites and headlines that gain us peer approval. We wear our political opinions like our football colours, and for exactly the same social purpose: it's a bonding thing, it's a mateship thing, it's a beautiful thing. You will get nowhere attempting to shape public opinion without support from some talking-point factory that already has the approval of those you're trying to reach.
Both the major parties are now so utterly focus-group driven that you wouldn't get a ciggy paper between them on policy anyway. This is precisely why they currently attract almost identical numbers of supporters. So if you want to keep Australian politics in its present rather splendid condition, where a small number of comparatively rational progressives actually retains the balance of power, then on no account should you seek to disturb the finely tuned balance of uselessness that the majors have worked so hard for so long to achieve.
Leave them to their endless and meaningless Tweedledum vs. Tweedledee games and get with the mob that has the balance of power. Join the Greens. Write to Tony Windsor, who shows every sign of being able to think. But don't waste your time with the Lib/Nats or the ALP; they exist to serve the 75% people who think locking "terrorist suspects" up without charge in enforced secrecy is a good idea.
posted by flabdablet at 2:50 AM on March 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I am a citizen. I try not to vote Green because of their environmental stance but they're usually the least bad option.
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 3:32 AM on March 16, 2011
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 3:32 AM on March 16, 2011
I believe it would still be illegal to posess refused classification (RC) material.
I don't believe that this is the case (but see disclaimer). The trade paperback of From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell was imported into Australia when it first came out, then some time later (a month or two?) it was refused classification and imports stopped. My local comic shop claimed that previously purchased copies were quite legal (as were copies imported later when the book was classified). Disclaimer: they weren't my lawyer, they're not your lawyer, they were a bunch of chaps running a comic shop. But that was the legal advice available to me at the time....
posted by manyon at 3:54 AM on March 16, 2011
I don't believe that this is the case (but see disclaimer). The trade paperback of From Hell by Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell was imported into Australia when it first came out, then some time later (a month or two?) it was refused classification and imports stopped. My local comic shop claimed that previously purchased copies were quite legal (as were copies imported later when the book was classified). Disclaimer: they weren't my lawyer, they're not your lawyer, they were a bunch of chaps running a comic shop. But that was the legal advice available to me at the time....
posted by manyon at 3:54 AM on March 16, 2011
The Pirate Party Australia has freedom of speech as one of the three main components of its platform.
GetUp! ran an anti-internet filter campaign in 2009. They claim that their campaigns are member driven, so if you have an idea for a pro-free speech or pro-Bill of Rights campaign, pitch it to them.
You should also monitor the websites of the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales, particularly their law faculty pages. When I attended, it seemed like there was a public lecture by law professors on freedom of speech or an Australian Bill of Rights every other week. Show up to a couple, learn what's already being done, and build a network. Ask them what you should be doing.
posted by PercyByssheShelley at 4:23 AM on March 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
GetUp! ran an anti-internet filter campaign in 2009. They claim that their campaigns are member driven, so if you have an idea for a pro-free speech or pro-Bill of Rights campaign, pitch it to them.
You should also monitor the websites of the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales, particularly their law faculty pages. When I attended, it seemed like there was a public lecture by law professors on freedom of speech or an Australian Bill of Rights every other week. Show up to a couple, learn what's already being done, and build a network. Ask them what you should be doing.
posted by PercyByssheShelley at 4:23 AM on March 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
A good approach would be to generate outrage. Your average Courier Mail/Herald Sun/Daily Mail-reading Australian enjoys the back 90% of their newspaper to be filled with football news, and the front 10% to have stories about dogs that can surf, and reasons to be angry and afraid. It doesn't matter what that source of fear is: government, sharks, interest rates, Indonesians, mince costing more at one supermarket than it does at another, tall buildings, whatever. But they like getting their blood up so they can storm around and call everyone a cunt because the average Australian likes to consider him or herself a "battler", but what do we have to battle against, really, these days? You need to figure a way to play on that fear and that desire for anger and for outrage.
Problem is, the present lack of an R18+ rating for video games isn't enough to get too many people concerned. Even the proposed internet filter is mostly a non-issue to the majority. After all, neither of those things really have any effect on our "free speech", they just restrict our access to a bunch of stuff. Which is grim, I agree, but nobody else cares. The reason they don't care is because provided they have their football and their beer they're mostly content.
But then something just struck me. Australia has a few troops overseas doing the bidding of your home country and getting their faces shot off in the process. It's a pretty well-known fact that many soldiers like to wind down and kick back with a video game with their comrades. So:
"I spoke to Mrs X., whose son, Adam, is serving with the ADF in Afghanistan. Adam and his fellow soldiers don't have a lot to do in their spare time, and Adam recently asked his mother if she could send a few Xbox games over to him at the base, as he and his fellow soldiers like to forget their troubles by playing video games in the rec. room. So Mrs X. ordered a half-dozen of the hottest games from a well-known online retailer based in America, and intended to send them on to Adam in her next care package, along with some Vegemite and socks. 'Adam loves his Vegemite,' said Mrs. X.
Imagine, then, Mrs X's shock when, instead of receiving the video games she ordered and paid for, she instead received a letter from Customs, telling her that one of the games ordered, Mortal Kombat, was banned within Australia due to violent content.
'I was outraged,' Mrs X said, close to tears in her Cronulla home, which she shares with a three-legged dog. 'My beautiful boy is over in that horrible country, defending us from terror, and I can't even send him a nice present for him and his little friends?'
Said an Expert: 'While the content of this Mortal Kombat game might be considered violent and bloodthirsty to some, it seems wholly hypocritical of the Gillard Government to expect a 22 year old soldier, who has been trained by our defence force to kill in defence of our freedoms, and encounters shocking death and violence every day of his deployment, to be refused access to this material based purely on the whim of a shady and anonymous 'classification board', which has taken it upon itself to act as our conscience, and decide what is and isn't good for us.'
A Soldier based in A Place agreed. 'Me and the boys like to come back from patrol and just play some Xbox. It's good for morale and helps us work off the stress of combat. And I mean, we're doing everyone a pretty big favour here, getting shot at all the time. Who is Julia Gillard to say that I can't look at a particular arrangement of pixels on a screen?'"
Obviously you'll need to do the legwork and possibly massage the story somewhat, but our brave soldiers being denied access to a game? For SHAME, Gillard!
posted by tumid dahlia at 5:14 PM on March 16, 2011 [4 favorites]
Problem is, the present lack of an R18+ rating for video games isn't enough to get too many people concerned. Even the proposed internet filter is mostly a non-issue to the majority. After all, neither of those things really have any effect on our "free speech", they just restrict our access to a bunch of stuff. Which is grim, I agree, but nobody else cares. The reason they don't care is because provided they have their football and their beer they're mostly content.
But then something just struck me. Australia has a few troops overseas doing the bidding of your home country and getting their faces shot off in the process. It's a pretty well-known fact that many soldiers like to wind down and kick back with a video game with their comrades. So:
"I spoke to Mrs X., whose son, Adam, is serving with the ADF in Afghanistan. Adam and his fellow soldiers don't have a lot to do in their spare time, and Adam recently asked his mother if she could send a few Xbox games over to him at the base, as he and his fellow soldiers like to forget their troubles by playing video games in the rec. room. So Mrs X. ordered a half-dozen of the hottest games from a well-known online retailer based in America, and intended to send them on to Adam in her next care package, along with some Vegemite and socks. 'Adam loves his Vegemite,' said Mrs. X.
Imagine, then, Mrs X's shock when, instead of receiving the video games she ordered and paid for, she instead received a letter from Customs, telling her that one of the games ordered, Mortal Kombat, was banned within Australia due to violent content.
'I was outraged,' Mrs X said, close to tears in her Cronulla home, which she shares with a three-legged dog. 'My beautiful boy is over in that horrible country, defending us from terror, and I can't even send him a nice present for him and his little friends?'
Said an Expert: 'While the content of this Mortal Kombat game might be considered violent and bloodthirsty to some, it seems wholly hypocritical of the Gillard Government to expect a 22 year old soldier, who has been trained by our defence force to kill in defence of our freedoms, and encounters shocking death and violence every day of his deployment, to be refused access to this material based purely on the whim of a shady and anonymous 'classification board', which has taken it upon itself to act as our conscience, and decide what is and isn't good for us.'
A Soldier based in A Place agreed. 'Me and the boys like to come back from patrol and just play some Xbox. It's good for morale and helps us work off the stress of combat. And I mean, we're doing everyone a pretty big favour here, getting shot at all the time. Who is Julia Gillard to say that I can't look at a particular arrangement of pixels on a screen?'"
Obviously you'll need to do the legwork and possibly massage the story somewhat, but our brave soldiers being denied access to a game? For SHAME, Gillard!
posted by tumid dahlia at 5:14 PM on March 16, 2011 [4 favorites]
I'm not a lawyer, and would be happy to be corrected by someone who is, but I believe that simply possessing RC material is not itself illegal unless the material is illegal for some other reason (certain types of pornography being the obvious example). Importing or selling RC material is, however, illegal.
If you want to import it, you take the same chances as anyone who undertakes illegal behaviour that is inconsistently enforced (smoking pot, selling cigarettes to underage kids, selling X rated pornography outside the NT or ACT). You'll likely get away with it most of the time, but that doesn't make it any less illegal. Even if they're having a crack-down, customs is unlikely to catch all of them, especially if you can arrange the sender to mislabel it (which may in itself be a crime for all I know). Only you can decide if you're happy to cop the consequences, however unlikely, of criminal behaviour.
We have hate speech legislation in Australia, so the government has already decided that some of the things you can possibly say are illegal. Again, it's inconsistently enforced, but it's there. IIRC that Australian constitution has an implied freedom of political speech, but not free speech, as such. Changing the constitution is possible (through a referendum), but unlikely, given past experience. Given the hostility to some sort of charter of human rights at multiple levels of government in Australia, it seems unlikely that we will have constitutionally guaranteed free speech at any time in the near future. That doesn't mean you can't fight for it, of course, but you should at least go into the fight pre-warned of the chances of you winning.
posted by damonism at 5:32 PM on March 16, 2011
If you want to import it, you take the same chances as anyone who undertakes illegal behaviour that is inconsistently enforced (smoking pot, selling cigarettes to underage kids, selling X rated pornography outside the NT or ACT). You'll likely get away with it most of the time, but that doesn't make it any less illegal. Even if they're having a crack-down, customs is unlikely to catch all of them, especially if you can arrange the sender to mislabel it (which may in itself be a crime for all I know). Only you can decide if you're happy to cop the consequences, however unlikely, of criminal behaviour.
We have hate speech legislation in Australia, so the government has already decided that some of the things you can possibly say are illegal. Again, it's inconsistently enforced, but it's there. IIRC that Australian constitution has an implied freedom of political speech, but not free speech, as such. Changing the constitution is possible (through a referendum), but unlikely, given past experience. Given the hostility to some sort of charter of human rights at multiple levels of government in Australia, it seems unlikely that we will have constitutionally guaranteed free speech at any time in the near future. That doesn't mean you can't fight for it, of course, but you should at least go into the fight pre-warned of the chances of you winning.
posted by damonism at 5:32 PM on March 16, 2011
Response by poster: tumid dahlia, why not run that for real? things like that are perfect
We have hate speech legislation in Australia, so the government has already decided that some of the things you can possibly say are illegal. Again, it's inconsistently enforced, but it's there. IIRC that Australian constitution has an implied freedom of political speech, but not free speech, as such.
this is what terrifies me
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 6:30 PM on March 16, 2011
We have hate speech legislation in Australia, so the government has already decided that some of the things you can possibly say are illegal. Again, it's inconsistently enforced, but it's there. IIRC that Australian constitution has an implied freedom of political speech, but not free speech, as such.
this is what terrifies me
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 6:30 PM on March 16, 2011
Lovecraft In Brooklyn: "this is what terrifies me"
Why? What evidence do you have that our speech laws are terrifying? Do you know of people who have been unfairly penalised under these laws?
posted by Kerasia at 6:34 PM on March 16, 2011
Why? What evidence do you have that our speech laws are terrifying? Do you know of people who have been unfairly penalised under these laws?
posted by Kerasia at 6:34 PM on March 16, 2011
Tumid, you channel Andrew Bolt so pitch-perfectly it's scary.
posted by flabdablet at 8:25 PM on March 16, 2011
posted by flabdablet at 8:25 PM on March 16, 2011
[tumid's comment is being processed by the news-mulching machine at The Heart Of The Nation™]
ADF SCANDAL AS TROOPS REFUSE TO FIGHTposted by Fiasco da Gama at 9:14 PM on March 16, 2011
Prefer Labor/Greens-Supplied Video Games
The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, was forced today to defend allegations that ADF personnel were refusing to engage with the Taliban, in favour of playing slasher X-Box and Playstation video nasties...
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by SMPA at 5:53 PM on March 15, 2011 [1 favorite]