Stolen in police raid

Presumably Blayney is in the repressive part of Australia sex shops are not allowed to sell hardcore (and that is the majority of the country)

From Blayney

Police seized a large quantity of DVDs and videos in a raid on an adult store in Ballarat yesterday.

The Ballarat Crime Investigation Unit executed a search warrant at Club X taking three hours to remove the items of interest.

Detective Acting Senior Sergeant Craig Dooley said the raid was carried out because the DVDs and videos failed to comply with the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Enforcement Act 1995, concerning

   
Paul Chadwick appointed director of editorial policies

From The Age

Paul Chadwick says he will not be the ABC's "chief censor".

After his appointment yesterday as the ABC's first director of editorial policies, Chadwick said: I made it clear during the selection process that if the ABC wanted a chief censor, I would not want the job. The position was offered and accepted on the basis that the director of editorial policies is not to be a chief censor.

Chadwick, 47, has a long record as a strong public advocate for freedom of the media, accountability of the media and ethics in journalism. The father of two has been a journalist, author, lawyer and statutory officer.

   
Only suitable for immature players

From mygen

The OFLC, The Australian censor, has a ‘National Classification Code’ which sets out several principal guidelines. One of these guidelines reads as follows: adults should be able to read, hear and see what they want

However this does not apply to computer games as those suitable for adults only are automatically banned in Australia from both supply and possession.

In 2002 there was a big push to introduce and adults only rating, ‘R18+’ into Australia’s classification scheme. Attorney-General Daryl Williams fought against the proposed changes by grasping onto the “fact” that games have a greater influence on behavior due to their interactive nature. This “fact” is rather a widely accepted lie.

Opposition also came in the form of churches and community groups. The kind of people who probably have never picked up a controller, instead, at least in the church’s case, would prefer to influence the youth with stories of holy wars, torture, vengeance and gruesome violence.

Lack of flexibility in the Australian classification scheme not only affects the rapidly expanding gaming community, but also the industry as a whole. Earlier this year Atari was about to launch Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure worldwide. Everything was ready in Australia, the game had passed through the OFLC months before and acquired an MA15+ rating. Only days before the game was to be released, Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock pressured the OFLC into submission and the game was re-rated to ‘Rrefused Classification’. It would now be illegal for the game to be sold, rented, loaned or imported in Australia.

Ruddock did not seem to appreciate the implications of such a decision. Launching a video game costs a lot of money. Millions of dollars are put into marketing the product and distribution. To be told only two days before launch was an event which dealt a heavy blow against Atari, but left a wound on the Australian gaming market.

Atari said: It’s unfortunate that during this day and age a government will implement censorship policies which are tantamount to book burning practices from the past.

  George Bush, World's No 1 Terrorist t-shirt banned

From The Age

An Australian was barred from a Qantas London-Melbourne flight unless he removed a T-shirt depicting George Bush as the world's number one terrorist. Allen Jasson was also prevented from catching a connecting flight within Australia later the same day unless he removed the offending T-shirt.

Jasson says Qantas and Virgin Blue were engaging in censorship but the airlines say the T-shirt was a security issue and could affect the sensitivities of other passengers.

The woman at the security check-in just said to me, 'You are not wearing that', Jasson said.  He was first told he would need to turn the T-shirt inside-out before he would be allowed to board the Qantas flight.

I told her I had the right to express my opinion, he said: She called other security and other people got involved. Ultimately, they said it was a security issue . . . in light of the present situation.

After a prolonged argument about freedom of speech and expression, Jasson said a Qantas gate manager said he could not fly at all unless he wore another T-shirt.

I felt I had made my point and caved in, Jasson said. But after arriving in Australia, Jasson said he put his Bush T-shirt back on and was again banned from boarding a connecting flight – this time a Virgin Blue plane from Adelaide to Melbourne.

It was argued other passengers could be offended, Mr Jasson said: I said it was most offensive that I would be prevented from expressing my political views.

  Australia urged to create some

From The Age

The Federal Government is being urged to make laws that allow the removal of hate material and racial vilification from Australian-based websites.

The B'nai B'rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), a Jewish human rights body, wants the change after failing to have limits placed on the website www.missionislam.com through appeals to politicians and use of existing legal channels.

The site, run by the Muslim Information Service in Sydney, is an extensive resource and link system aimed at influencing young Muslims, and points them to extreme views and well-known anti-Semitic material.

The ADC have been frustrated by ACMA's inability to deal with the issue, due to strict guidelines which extended only to dealing with violence and pornography, not hate or other offensive material.

Communications Minister Senator Helen Coonan said the Government could act only if the material breached the law.

  Annual Report published

From www.oflc.gov.au

The OFLC have released their Annual Report for the year 2005-6. It is available on their website in pdf format.

  Take issue with beer advert featuring fearful Pom

From The Times

A group of British expatriates living in Australia has launched a legal action to outlaw the use of the word, Pom, in advertising on the basis that Pom is a derogatory term, on a par with “nigger” and “wog”.

British People Against Racial Discrimination (BPARD) has launched the action with Australia’s Advertising Standards Bureau in an attempt to take off air a television beer advertisement that features an Englishman fearful of Australia’s cold beer.

The advertisement claims that the brewer Tooheys’ new Supercold brand is “cold enough to scare a Pom” and features footage of an overweight, pale, balding man in a Union Jack T-shirt cringing in fear at the offer of a cold beer.

BPARD spokesman, David Thomason believes that there is a fashionable wave of derogatory insults against the British and, on the eve of the second Ashes Test, cited the behaviour of Australian cricket fans toward the English: The songs the Aussie supporters sing talk about how we can’t get near your body because of your smell, your body odour, your bad breath, your buck teeth, your whingeing, have you got some soap.

Based on legal precedent, it is unlikely that Pom will be wiped from the Australian public lexicon. The Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission has considered twice whether the word is derogatory and ruled it safe on both occasions. In its latest ruling, issued in September, the commission sanctioned the continued use of the word, provided that it was not accompanied by other offensive comments that were racist or unlawful.

ABC, the government-owned national broadcaster, has also reviewed its attitude recently toward the use of the word Pom. Heather Forbes, the chairman of the corporation’s standing committee on spoken English, said yesterday that the committee had decided that the use of the word was acceptable: I think it can be used as a term of endearment, you know, ‘Here come the Poms’.

  From News.com.au

The book publisher, Scholastic Australia, pulled the plug on the Army of the Pure after booksellers and librarians said they would not stock the adventure thriller for younger readers because the "baddie" was a Muslim terrorist.

A prominent literary agent has slammed the move as "gutless", while the book's author, award-winning novelist John Dale, said the decision was "disturbing because it's the book's content they are censoring".

There are no guns, no bad language, no sex, no drugs, no violence that is seen or on the page, Dale said, but because two characters are Arabic-speaking and the plot involves a mujaheddin extremist group, Scholastic's decision is based 100% (on) the Muslim issue.

Scholastic's general manager, publishing, Andrew Berkhut, said the company had canvassed a broad range of booksellers and library suppliers, who expressed concern that the book featured a Muslim terrorist. They all said they would not stock it, and the reality is if the gatekeepers won't support it, it can't be published.

Scholastic described the writing as "almost flawless" and the story about four children chased by Afghan terrorists after discovering a plot to blow up Sydney's Lucas Heights nuclear reactor a "gripping page-turner".

Dale's agent, Lyn Tranter, yesterday branded the move "a gutless" publishing decision. I am appalled that this is censorship by salesmen, she said.

Based on an article from PALGN

Rule of Rose is a psychological horror game which has been withdrawn from release in the UK.

Australian media have now also discussed why the title should be banned,

Australian Family Council nutter spokesman Bill Muehlenberg said: It depicts young women as fair game for kids to torture. It could push some children over the edge, while desensitising others to violence.

Rule of Rose hadn't yet been classified by the OFLC, but Red-Ant (the game's Australian distributor) has confirmed to PALGN today that it will not be available for this territory at this stage.

The issue was also discussed on the Channel 7 Sunrise program today, the panelists felt the game should be banned, or given an R rating.

  From Refused Classification

This year has seen a big increase in the incidence of hardcore titles being banned. 30 titles have been banned so far this year.

So it is easy to see why a company like Adultshop.com have had enough. They have just launched an anti-censorship website aimed at informing the public about the current situation. 

As mentioned in the last update, they are also challenging the X18+ awarded to Viva Erotica on the grounds that Australians are no longer offended by hardcore. This means that hardcore should be awarded R18+ certificates such that the DVDs can then be sold in retail shops (rather than only by mail order from more enlightened states)
 

  From The Sydney Morning Herald

As sex films go, Viva Erotica is tame: 28 minutes of sex and no violence. But because the sex is real, it is classified X18+, a rating that means it is banned from sale in all states.

A challenge to its rating, by the listed retailer Adultshop.com, could bring a watershed in Australian censorship this week.

The Classification Review Board will determine whether reasonable adults are offended by films that have a lot of sex but no plot and little artistic merit - such as this one.

Whereas previous efforts to relax restrictions have tried to add a new category of "non-violent erotica", Adultshop.com aims to achieve the same end by changing how the existing law is applied.

The classification guidelines say the difference between R18+ and an X rating is: "simulation, yes, the real thing, no". But the legislated classification code - which the guidelines help apply - says an X is warranted when actual sex is depicted: in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult. When rating films, classifiers have to consider: the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults.

Adultshop.com has research that it says demonstrates that most Australian adults are not offended by films showing real but straightforward sex.

It says the X rating is applied too liberally and that films such as Viva Erotica should join the small number of explicit but non-violent art house films that are rated R, such as the cult American hit now showing in cinemas, Shortbus.

It relies on a survey of 1499 adults conducted by ACNielsen in September. 30% said they were personally offended by films primarily involving various forms of actual sex, including close-ups, while only 22% thought most reasonable adults found them offensive. 76% said such films should be available, on a restricted basis, to adults.

The argument is backed by the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, which, with other interest groups, has been invited to make a submission on the classification challenge. Its president, Cameron Murphy, said the appeal raised a critical issue that would "seriously affect" the ability of adults to see what they wanted: It's critical that the Classification Review Board takes into account community attitudes. It's all very well for them to bring their own view of community attitudes to the table … but if there's evidence presented, they have to act on that. I think the material should be available.

  AdultShop.com disappoints

  From The West

AdultShop.com is set to shut its flagging phone-sex operations as it tries to build its movies and magazines business, which the company claims is being squeezed between Federal regulation and a proliferation of pirate pedlars.

Chairman Kim Heitman told shareholders at AdultShop.com's annual meeting in Perth yesterday that the phone-sex business had been declining for several years and the company could not stay in an unprofitable business forever.

Earlier, the Perth-based group's management and long-standing chief executive, Malcolm Day, came under fire from two peeved shareholders about the poor financial and sharemarket performance. Shares in the group, which posted a $384,000 loss in the 2005-06 financial year.

Heitman said AdultShop.com's businesses, which confined themselves to legal and properly classified adult material, had been hurt by harsh censorship regulation as well as pirate operators and importers selling movies in breach of copyright and movie classification laws.

He was hopeful that a legal challenge by AdultShop.com to the way the Office of Film and Literature Classification was implementing Australia's censorship laws and looming changes to the Copyright Act would help boost his group's distribution operations, which held the copyright to about 80% of legally classified porn in Australia.

  AdultShop.com lose their appeal

From IBN News

The Classification Review Board has rejected an adult film shop's application to sell one of its videos outside of the ACT.

Adultshop.com was asking the board to change the rating of one of its films, Viva Erotica, from an X to an R, to allow it to sell the film interstate.

It argued that the film did not contain violent sex, although it did have real sex scenes, and as such should be allowed to sell everywhere, not just the ACT and Northern Territory.

But the classification board announced earlier today it was refusing the application.The full seven-member Classification Review Board has determined, in a unanimous decision, that the film, Viva Erotica is classified X 18+. Films classified X 18+ carry the consumer advice, “Explicit sex”, their statement read. X18+ is a special and legally restricted classification category for films that contain only sexually explicit material. X 18+ films contain real depictions of actual sexual intercourse and other sexual activity between consenting adults.

Classification Review Board convenor Maureen Shelley said the board believed the X 18+ rating was warranted: It does not have, nor has the applicant claimed it has, what would ordinarily be considered to be “artistic merit” or other elements that the Review Board would consider in determining if a film’s content should be classified in one category or another.

Films classified X 18+ can only legally be sold or hired in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory from premises licensed to sell X 18+ DVDs and videotapes. People must be aged 18 years or older to be able to buy or hire X 18+ films from these premises.
 

  Contending that the censors haven't followed the law

From IBN News

Adult retailer AdultShop.com has now vowed to appeal to the Federal Court after its attempt to legalise the sale or hire of pornographic videos in WA was scuppered by the Office of Film and Literature Classification.

AdultShop.com chief Malcolm Day said he was disappointed at the decision and would appeal to the Federal Court. He said he had provided considerable evidence to the OFLC about changing community standards: Today the majority of Australian adults aren't offended by these types of films. But I suppose when you go to the Federal Court at least you have a judge who looks at the law and takes that into account instead of the situation you get with a board like the OFLC.

  From Refused Classification

Welcome to Greensborough, a 2005 Australian film by Tom McEvoy has just been banned by the Australian censor.

The film screened at the 2005 Melbourne Underground Film Festival where it picked up a couple of awards, Best Editing & Best Guerrilla Film

The rise and revenge of Youth! The Australian answer to Kids, Gummo and Ken Park. The first Australian film I know of to have been refused a classification from the OFLC (…a first film historians?). Why? Because this film is about young people, made by young people…that actually dared to have scenes of late teenagers having sex. Shock Horror…that doesn’t go on does it? This is no Larry Clark drooling over teenagers here; this is young people reflecting their world, where in that world sixteen year old girls fuck sixteen-year-old guys. Well not anymore, director Tom McEvoy had to reshoot his love scenes with actors over 18. So the Melbourne Underground Film Festival version will be ok with our masters and betters at the OFLC. The film features angst-ridden teenagers partying, getting wasted, being bored and generally wondering who sold the youth of the world down the river. Film ends in a gang bang cum rape scene.

  First Ever Australian Film Banned in Australia

From the director, Tom McEvoy

I've just found out that my first Feature Film has been banned outright in Australia and frankly I'm really not impressed. It's a teen film that I wrote when I was 20yrs old and it's taken me 4 years to finally get it to a point where I thought it wouldn't be banned, after several nervous inquiries but politics has chosen to rule against me.

In desperation I hoped for for an "X" rating but it didn't even get one of those as some of the material was deemed beyond his categorisation to my shock. It's not a pornographic film, but looks into the effects of porn culture in teen society and I try to use pornography against itself to highlight how grotesque underage sexuality can be at times. Think of the Antichrist to an American teen film.

So far my film titled Welcome to Greensborough has been compared to Ken Park, another film that was banned and I'm really upset as I feel my film has a really important message to youth about sexuality. Most of the cast and crew were still teenagers when the film was made and from what I know, there's not a film like it made in Australia before.

Based on an article from The Fifth Estate

In censorship of adult-oriented material in Australia, there are a lot of grey areas.

As long time adult industry campaigner Robbie Swan explains, there has already been confusion over how to classify DVDs in the X-rated category. The proscription against violence, sexual violence, sexualised violence, coercion, sexually assaultive language results in films that are not allowed to have dramatic storylines or even modest production values.

Because someone says somewhere in there, someone's been trying to make a genuine drama in there … and says "fuck you", instead of "fuck me" … the film gets banned because it's called 'assaultive language', and you're not even allowed to have mildly assaultive language in there, he says.

You could even have the film banned if there's a knife on the table sometimes. You know, no-ones's using it or anything, but just the threat, the possibility that someone could pick up the knife at some stage and could plunge it into someone, that's deemed to be enough to be some form of violence that's not allowed in X-rating.

The Eros Association Association Chief Executive Officer Fiona Patten believes that the National Classification Code, as interpreted by the Classification Board, creates problems for even the most diligent of content providers: If you want to distribute a film in Australia, by law you must classify it, but if you want to distribute internet material … you can't classify it. You just have to know how to do that, which you know, the line between MA and R can be a very fine line and a very difficult one. I think it's rather curious that there is no mechanism to for you to ensure that you're not breaking the law until you break it.

If the Australian Communications and Media Authority finds that the material is X-rated, (or is R-rated on a site without an access system), there seems to be little that the content provider can do without potentially futile legal action.

The take down orders are processed with no attempt at opposition. Graham Rodrick of the ACMA said: We have not had one case where there is a dispute by a content host in taking down the content.

Swan says that to just appeal a regular Classification Board decision to the Review Board for a DVD costs $7,000 to $10,000 to appeal that decision: Now that is censorship by economic means. Because hardly anyone will pay that amount of money to get the film reviewed. And that's why the number of appeals every year is like, two. And even then it's only big companies.

It just seems like they're trying to make it impossible for someone to get off the ground unless they've got a lot of money", "Anneke", Adult content provider. With this in mind, Anneke has already decided to take her business for content hosts offshore.

Swan says the legislation pushed "the whole industry offshore".

I mean basically anyone who had an Australian adult website … in 1999 they simply left their Australian internet service providers and just re-registered their businesses with overseas internet service providers … it gave parents and people in Australia a false sense of security that now children wouldn't be able to get access to explicit adult material. This may explain why there are several investigations of overseas content resulting in referrals to international equivalents of ACMA, and far fewer take-down notices (according to ACMA statistics) actually served in Australia. Well that was just such a lie, because the federal government has no jurisdiction whatever with websites that are based with offshore servers.

Based on an article from YourGuide

The stars of the ABC's satirical chat show, The Glass House, have been left high and dry by the network, which they say has yet to give them a reason for cancelling the hit show.

The ABC confirmed yesterday that it had axed the high-rating weekly program in which the three hosts, all stand-up comedians, discuss the political events of the week.

It is the first show to go since the announcement of a new $280,000-a-year "chief censor" position at the ABC to monitor program content for political bias, although comedy programs were to be exempt from the examinations.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has denied pressuring the ABC to axe a popular television comedy show because of its perceived anti-government bias.

The ABC head of arts and entertainment, Courtney Gibson, said it was a simple decision: It has everything to do with economics and nothing to do with editorial policy.

Host Wil Anderson, said neither he nor co-hosts Corinne Grant and Dave Hughes had been officially informed by ABC management of the decision not to renew the program.

The trio's manager had passed on the news several weeks ago that the last episode of the program, which has run for more than five years and 200 episodes, would go to air on November 29.

Anderson said the team was shocked by the announcement after having its best year yet, both creatively and in terms of ratings: We won an AFI [Australian Film Institute] Award last year, and we just got nominated again, and we feel like the show has been really firing.

Accusations of bias levelled at the program by Senator Fierravanti-Wells and other Liberal Party members missed the point of satire.

Based on an article from News.com.au

SBS, the Australian multicultural broadcaster, was accused yesterday of being soft on terrorism and broadcasting pornography. NSW Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells criticised SBS officials, and also accused the broadcaster of "siding with" Australian terror suspect David Hicks.

Senator Fierravanti-Wells said the SBS documentary When Sex Goes Wrong had included such insightful little gems (as) individuals recounting their most disgusting experiences involving sex.

However, SBS managing director Shaun Brown rejected her claims. I don't accept your assertion that it's porn. We do not broadcast porn.

SBS broadcasts a range of programs with strong sexual content including Stripperella, an animated series whose main character, voiced by Pamela Anderson, is a stripper named Erotica Jones.

Senator Fierravanti-Wells also raised concerns about the broadcaster's coverage of terrorism, saying it had an "equivocal attitude to terrorism". She said a radio broadcast in which Hezbollah was referred to as a "so-called terrorist organisation" was unacceptable.

Based on an article from News.com.au

An online sex shop is appealing against an X-rating handed to the film Viva Erotica by Australia's censorship board.

Adultshop.com today said it would appeal the Office of Film and Literature Classification's (OFLC) decision on the grounds the film is not offensive to a reasonable person.

Films must contain depictions of actual sex that would offend a "reasonable" adult before they can be classified as X-rated, banning their general distribution in most states and territories.

Viva Erotica is a compilation of sex scenes from "classic porn movies", mostly from the US, a spokeswoman for the retailer said.

Adultshop.com said today it had based its appeal on the findings of ACNielsen surveys it commissioned last month which found 70% of Australians were not offended by explicit erotic films and 76% believed the material should be available to adults who wish to view it.

Our appeal is based on the fact the OFLC has failed to ensure that its classification decisions reflect current community standards, Adultshop.com managing director Malcolm Day said in a statement: In fact, since its inception in 1988, the OFLC has repeatedly failed to reflect community standards when classifying all explicit erotic films."

Day said Viva Erotica should be classified R18+ because the film's content did not offend the reasonable adult.

There must be some sort of birth defect enabling people to rise through the ranks of Customs.  How else can one justify that 'offensive videos' are somehow on a par with guns & knives in terms of worthiness for prosecution.

Based on an article from News.com.au

Imports of drugs, weapons and "nasty" pornography into South Australia are on the increase, and Customs says internet shoppers are largely to blame. Confiscation of supposedly illegal imports jumped 23% last financial year.

There has been a dramatic increase through all postal areas of imported illegal goods which can be attributed to the worldwide web, Customs regional director Jennifer Reimitz said: We have confiscated knives, firearms, drugs and nasty DVDs containing material of an offensive nature through the post. I can only imagine what people would want to import these things for.

Reimitz said the action taken against importers of illegal goods varied according to the individual case. If someone brought in a prohibited item through an airport but were aware it was illegal and had declared it, we would in most cases give a warning. But, if the item is a gun, knife or video of an offensive nature, we would look to prosecute.

From Refused Classification

Spin the Bottle an interactive DVD Game has been banned. Although it was not a computer game, the interactive nature of the DVD saw it was classified as such. Had it been viewed as a film then it would have undoubtedly been passed.

The game describes itself as: A new slant on 'Spin The Bottle' without using an actual bottle! This party game has over 500 different actions with thousands of different results. Get ready to laugh as your friends find themselves in compromising situations and reveal their most intimate secrets. Put your next party into overdrive with Spin The Bottle, a DVD Game of shocking truths and outrageous dares sure to set your heart racing!

In the UK the DVD was released in November 2005 by Universal. There it was Exempt from Classification, meaning it was not even considered necessary to rate.

From the Border Mail

Australians are less prudish than they are at times portrayed, according to new research.

A survey for adult products retailer AdultShop.com found most adult Australians have a relaxed attitude towards pornographic films.

70% of those interviewed did not find explicit erotic films offensive, and 76% thought the films should be made available on a restricted basis to people aged over 18.

AdultShop.com head of marketing Amanda Musgrave said the research confirmed the firm's conviction that most Australian adults do not find erotic films offensive: We believe the current method of classification of explicit erotic films in Australia is not reflective of general community standards

The research was based on a survey of 1499 adult Australians conducted by ACNielsen over one weekend.

From News.com.au

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock agreed yesterday to reconsider the book ban for students, after complaints the measure was putting academic freedom at risk.

Concerned that the university could face fines of up to $27,000 and its staff could be jailed for up to two years, Vice-Chancellor Glyn Davis wrote to Ruddock warning that the effect of the ban was to stop genuine scholars from accessing material in their area of expertise.

National Tertiary Education Union president Carolyn Alport said the fact the books - written by the man known as "The Godfather of jihad", Abdullah Azam - were available online made the ban ridiculous.

Two of the books, Defence of Muslim Lands and Join the Caravan were banned by the Classification Review Board in July following an application by the Australian Federal Police.

Education Minister Julie Bishop yesterday warned academics attempting to study terrorism to obey the law: They should exercise judgment with regard to their sources of information, and are expected to abide by the law and the need to protect Australia's national security.

This follows a decision last month by Flinders University sociologist Riaz Hassan to abandon research on suicide bombers after Ruddock warned him he could breach the terror laws.

The censor found Defence of the Muslim Lands, which carries an endorsement by Osama bin Laden, incited "terrorism acts and martrydom operations".  A third book, The Lofty Mountain, was also removed from library shelves pending a classification review.

At the time, Ruddock urged state authorities to keep offensive material of this nature off the streets. He did not offer a legal opinion about whether downloading the books was lawful, but warned that anyone who sought to sell or hire the books would be committing an offence: I am happy to look at those who would argue that for research purposes there might need to be limited access to particular publications.

Professor Davis yesterday welcomed reports that students might be able to gain access to the texts on a "limited basis".

Better than being PC whoozies like the Aussies

From The Telegraph

Australian cricket fans will be asked to perform an apparently impossible act of mental gymnastics in the forthcoming Ashes series.

Cricket Australia, the sport's governing body Down Under, has ruled that visiting English fans can be called "Poms" or "Pommies" without fear of breaching the country's strict racism laws.

However, even in the heat of their desire to win back the famous urn, Australian barrackers must avoid linking the Pom-word with anything hurtful. . . racist, offensive or humiliating.

The last time an Englishman inside an Australian cricket ground was called a "Pom" without the addition of a hurtful, racist, offensive or humiliating epithet is lost in the mists of time.

Asked whether a fan who used the word "Pom" in concert with anything hurtful etc would be evicted from the ground, a Cricket Australia spokesman, described the scenario as "hypothetical".

The board's stance is based on a ruling by the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commissioner in a 1997 case, Bryant v Queensland Newspapers. It said that calling someone a Pom by itself was not racial harassment, unless said in such a way, or in combination with other acts or comments, that make it so. Phrases such as "filthy Poms" are definitely out, although the position of "whinging" is unclear.

From Refused Classification
See also www.ratingsconference2007.com

The (Australian) Classification Board is hosting the International Rating Conference to be held next year in Sydney.

The primary focus for the conference will be to explore the impact of an increasingly global marketplace for film, games and other consumable entertainment media. This will include identification of current and forecast trends in the global marketplace and attempts to define the ongoing business environment. In this context, the place for local systems regulations in a global environment, the nature of community standards in a diverse and increasingly borderless world and classification of new and emerging content formats will also be considered at the conference. You’ll also hear outcomes of the latest research into the area, including impacts of exposure to entertainment content.

If you work in the area of films, computer games and other emerging interactive media formats and have an interest in classification issues then you must attend this landmark event. The conference will be relevant for classification officials, content regulators, film industry representatives, computer game developers and producers, mobile phone content developers and providers, broadcasters, members of community interest groups, academics, social and market researchers, professional bodies and students.

From The West

Non-Muslims should practise self censorship to avoid triggering violent reactions, a prominent Perth Muslim says.

In the wake of violent attacks over a speech by Pope Benedict XVI that linked the Prophet Mohammed's teachings to violence, Perth academic Samina Yasmeen said religious and community leaders should stop speaking about Islamic icons to avoid causing offence.

Associate Professor Yasmeen, director of the University of WA's centre for Muslim states and societies, accused the Pope of deliberately provoking the aggression by inviting criticism of Mohammed. She said the Pope and other religious leaders had the same responsibility as Islamic clerics to avoid encouraging violence by followers.

Previous emotive reactions, such as the violence following the publication of cartoons depicting Mohammed and Salman Rushdie's 1988 novel The Satanic Verses, should have warned people not to criticise Islam. Professor Yasmeen denied that the first reaction of many Muslims to perceived insults was violence, despite calls by some clerics to kill those who insult Islam and the murder of an Italian nun in Somalia.

I am not supportive of people killing and blowing things up, ...BUT... people need to start looking at self censorship, she said.

From Refused Classification

Gallery Entertainment had the big-budget hardcore movie, Pirates, passed on March 20th 2006. A second disc titled Pirates Bonus Features was passed on March 31st. Both were listed as being the 'Original Version' and were given X18+ (Explicit Sex) ratings.

On September 5th 2006 Pirates Collectors Edition (3 disk set) was banned.

The applicant was the ACT Office of Fair Trading, the body that monitors compliance with the X18+ regulations in that Territory. The version that was banned sounds like an imported disc that was illegally made available for sale in the ACT. This would seem to indicate that the so-called 'Original Version' passed as X18+ may have been pre-cut before submission.

Since the tightening of the guidelines in 2000 it has been very difficult to include any scenes of violence in the X18+ rating.

A word of warning, despite the film being passed in an 'Original Version', this does not mean that it was not pre-cut before submission. It needs to be confirmed if Pirates is indeed uncut in Australia.

So it turns out that the the moral high grounders are the bullies and the game is declared innocent of all accusations.

Press release from the Australian Censor, the OFLC
From Refused Classification

Bully computer game classified M

The Classification Board has classified the computer game Bully M with the consumer advice, ‘Moderate themes, violence, sexual references’

Bully, has gained notoriety during its development as interest groups and the media speculated on its content.

M is an advisory classification. Computer games classified M are not recommended for persons under 15 years of age. There are no legal restrictions for the M classification.

Bully is a third person action/adventure story-based game. It follows Jimmy Hopkins, a teenager who is sent to ‘Bullworth Academy’, where he navigates his way through the high school social hierarchy. His aims include completing the school year, protecting weaker students from ‘bullies’ and exposing corrupt teachers.

The Classification Board found that the themes, violence and sexual references are moderate in playing and viewing impact in the context of a comedic game about the trials of life in a troubled educational institution. According to the player’s behaviour during gameplay, Jimmy either accumulates punishment points until he is apprehended by authority figures, or increases in the school’s social standing. Punishments include lawn mowing, snow shovelling, receiving demerit points and attending extra classes.

During the game the player is not encouraged to attack innocent bystanders or undertake acts of “bullying”, and is not rewarded for doing so. The “missions” the player undertakes are generally about thwarting acts of bullying, exploitation or discrimination.

Violence towards innocent bystanders such as school girls and smaller school children causes authority figures such as prefects, teachers and police officers to chase and apprehend the player-controlled character, Jimmy.

From X Biz

Viewing human rights perversion on your phone

Responding to recent government demands to protect children from accessing adult content via the growing medium of mobile TV, industry representatives said that mission would prove to be difficult, if not impossible.

After a nationwide outcry over an incident that saw a Sydney grade school student showing classmates nude photos that he had downloaded onto his Internet-capable mobile phone, Sen. Helen Coonan called the medium a “pipeline for perversion.”

Coonan said the solution was to extend the nation’s Internet and TV content restrictions to include mobile devices.

Representatives from the mobile sector attending the Australian Interactive Media Industry Summit agreed that protecting children is vital, but said Coonan’s solutions would not work.

Scott Taylor, general manager of Hutchinson, a company that offers adult content on its network, said that content restrictions won’t work because mobile devices will soon have access to virtually any website in the world. As an alternative solution, Taylor suggested that the industry needed to educate parents on how to control access.

According to Jason Nealon of Optus, a mobile content portal, a parental control layer needs to be part of the mobile device to best protect children.

From SSO Net
A fascinating detailed article has been posted on  Refused Classification

Australian censors will allow Queer Screen to show a US documentary featuring real gay sex only if the explicit scenes are edited out.

The OFLC last week banned Queer Screen from showing controversial movie Damon And Hunter: Doing It Together in their annual gay and lesbian documentary film festival, queerDOC.

The film features a real-life couple talking about their love life and shows them having sex, including explicit shots of sexual intercourse, oral sex and masturbation.

Queer Screen had hoped a re-edited version of the film, which featured less explicit sex, would get an exemption for a one-off screening.

However, this week the OFLC insisted all explicit content had to be removed for it to be shown.

The documentary is already available to buy on DVD in Australia with an X rating – a classification which means it cannot be legally screened in a public place.

A new cut of the film, to be edited by the documentary’s New York-based director Tony Comstock this week, will be shown to the OFLC for approval.

Queer Screen’s festival manager, Lex Lindsay, said while the re-edit would be radically different to the original he hoped audiences would still be able to “get a taste of it”.

Last month Damon And Hunter was screened at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF) where it was named best documentary.

MUFF director Richard Wolstencroft refused to comment on whether he’d been in contact with the OFLC about the screening. But he did say he was “shocked” by the decision to ban the original from being shown and, unlike Goldfish, thought it was discrimination. The film is a sensitive, honest and sensual exploration of male homosexuality. This censorship is further evidence of the subversive war being carried out by certain members of our government against gays and lesbians in our community.

Wolstencraft encouraged Sydney’s queer community to protest by playing the film at a secret venue in “a much needed act of civil disobedience”.

From The Sydney Morning Herald

The adult entertainment industry is pushing the Federal Government to allow pornography on new digital television channels. An industry body, Eros Association, said yesterday it had requested a meeting with the Communications Minister, Helen Coonan, to discuss the potential for a porn channel.

But the Government is expected to take a hard line, fearing a public backlash in the lead-up to an election year. Companies interested in bidding for up to 30 digital channels have already been warned that porn and gambling-related channels are off the cards.

Senator Coonan unveiled her plan for the media industry this month, including the allocation of two new digital licences, with up to 15 channels each.

One media executive said yesterday that subscription-based channels for gambling or porn "made the most convincing business cases", but would probably be banned.

The Eros chief executive, Fiona Patten, said a porn channel would help drive the take-up of digital TV. She said the Government should consider allowing X-rated as well as R-rated content otherwise the Government is effectively saying violence is OK but sex is not. People can watch Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but not Debbie Does Dallas.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has made recommendations to Senator Coonan on how the new digital channels should be allocated and marketed.

A spokeswoman for the minister said she would considering that advice before going back to her colleagues for final approval of the plan.

Maybe George Pell should also point out the immense harm caused by a total denial of sex. His church should be more aware of this than most!

From Total Catholic

Sydney’s Archbishop George Pell has said that more should be done to stem the flow of sexually explicit content on the Internet.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph in Australia the archbishop also called on doctors and scientists to do more to treat sexual addiction, which he claimed was just a real addiction as drugs and alcohol.

Sexual addiction is real, he said. We have long recognized drug addicts, alcoholics, compulsive gamblers, but only recently has public attention begun to focus on compulsive and disordered sexuality. It is still among the least understood of all the addictions, although now a major social problem and public health issue.

The Internet has now become the fastest growing source and forum for sexual addicts, because it is available at any time of day or night, is isolated and secret, rich in fantasy and endless variety. Sexual addicts are only a minority, but the spread of pornography on the Internet is feeding these addictions. Some Australian cities, including Sydney, are among the highest users in the world of pornographic material.

Forty percent of the adult male population in the U.K. (9,000,000) logged onto sex websites last year, four times as many as in 2000. 1.4 million women downloaded Internet porn in that time, but this represents an increase of 30%. It is not surprising that 40% of couples with marital difficulties say Internet pornography is at least partly to blame."

Based on an article from ABC

Death threats have been made against the people setting up an adult book shop in Shepparton, in north-eastern Victoria. The Eros Foundation plans to open the Club X store in 12 months. It comes after the community took the business to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to stop it being built in the city.

Eros spokeswoman Fiona Patten says the person making the threats has identified themselves as a member of the Family First political party: Some of them were saying things like, 'you need a Colombian neck tie', which I understand is a burning tyre around your neck filled with petrol. So I had to say there were pretty threatening letters. It has now gone on to write to other members of our association, he has gone on to write to our president and members of Parliament.

Family First says the person making the threats is not one of its members.

Update: Get your Threats Straight!

It was pointed out to me that the petrol filled burning tyre is in fact referred to as a 'necklace'. A Columbian necktie is in fact slitting the throat and pulling the tongue through the slit.

Well if mean minded politicians try and ban material that is generally accepted by the community then there will surely be a black market. With equal certainty, nutters will try and report such a black market with as many negative nuances as they can trump up.

Based on an article from The Sydney Morning Herald

Vanilla porn banned  in Australia

Illegal and supposedly extreme pornographic films are being traded under the noses of police through an Australian network of sex shops, other stores and truck stops.

A Sunday Age investigation has revealed state governments are turning a blind eye to the trade, which is controlled by criminal operations and worth up to $300 million a year.

Thousands of films are being supplied via post office box addresses in the Northern Territory, where sales of X-rated films is legal. The catalogues, which offer pirated copies of X-rated films or unclassified films for Australia, brag about the content of movies. Customers send money to NT post office boxes to claim their films, which are redirected to Sydney or Brisbane, where orders are filled.

Federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said he was concerned the state governments appeared to ignore criminal activity of a serious nature: When the law specifically provides that material ought to be presented for classification, and it's not, then it is beyond doubt that people distributing that material are committing offences.

From Refused Classification

The game version of Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs has just been banned by the Classification Board. This is the second game after Getting Up to be banned in 2006

The game is rated 18 for sale in the UK and is scheduled for an Autumn release. I notice that UK Amazon won't ship games to Australia. Good job we have a bit of people power with eBay otherwise the world's shops would be dominated by control freaks.

From PALGN

The Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) has decided to explain its actions through a statement released today.

The Classification Board made this decision on the basis that Reservoir Dogs contains frequent depictions of violence that have a high impact. Players (participants in a bank heist) can literally blow the heads off hostages and police as well as execute hostages at point blank range with a gunshot to the head.

That's not all that's upset them mind, with the game's depiction of torture also coming in for flak from the classification body: A series of so-called signature torture moves, such as repeated pistol whipping the side of the head with blood spray evident, burning the eyes of a hostage with a cigar until they scream and die, and cutting the fingers off a hostage with blood bursts as the victim screams in pain. Even the presentation came in for some flak, with the OFLC pointing out: In lieu of taking a hostage, the player can opt for a more violent scenario where a slow motion shootout occurs, accentuating the violence.

The offical statement from Eidos in response to the classification refusal reads: We feel that it is unfortunate that fans of the film will not get the opportunity to play the game in Australia when it is released in the US and Europe later this year. We will fully comply with the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification's decision. The game remains faithful to the cult classic film, directed by Quentin Tarantino, and as such, is an ultra-violent third person action game and the OFLC's rating system does not have a suitable age classification for this.

Based on an article from News.com.au

Late night antics on Channel 10's Big Brother program has again drawn the ire of nutter MPs.

Nutters in the Federal Government want to make it easier to force the show off air if it breaches broadcasting guidelines. The call came as Ten admitted that as many as 76,000 children could be watching Big Brother: Adults Only each week.

The show this week included high levels of nudity, simulated sex and discussions about masturbation, erections and sexual technique.

Not so Liberal MP Trish Draper yesterday said the Government needed to be able to take the adult show off the air within 48 hours if it broke censorship rules. Draper and National Party MP Paul Neville complained about the gratuitous nature of the program to Coalition colleagues at a joint party room meeting yesterday.

They said they were concerned it would take more than a month to have the adults-only version of Big Brother axed under existing rules if it breached MA+ guidelines.

Draper, who heads a parliamentary classifications committee, said she had asked Communications Minister Helen Coonan to examine the issue. We feel that ACMA (Australian Communications and Media Authority) should be able to compel Channel 10 to sit down and go through the process immediately there are complaints, she said. Under existing rules, complaints must first be made to the TV network and are only taken to the ACMA if they are not resolved in 30 days.

A Ten spokeswoman said changes had been made this year to the adults-only version of Big Brother - formerly called Big Brother Uncut - to ensure it met MA+ requirements. But she admitted that about 8% of viewers, based on last year's figures, were under 18.

Changes to the show followed a storm of criticism last year after an episode in which a male housemate was filmed rubbing his genitals on a female housemate while giving her a massage. The spokeswoman said two censors examined each adults-only episode before it was aired.

Family First senator Steve Fielding said the late-night version of the program was rotting children's brains. Show me any mum or dad who would say this is good for their kids to watch, he said. Family First believes this is smut, the language is vulgar and it can distort our children's views about relationships.. [And those with rotted brains have clearly gone onto to become politicians and Family First campaigners]

Based on an article from News.com.au

Following intense criticism from legislators, Australia’s Network Ten has pulled the plug on Big Brother—Adults Only, its late-night edition of the reality show.

TEN said the Big Brother franchise overall has been out-performing last year’s edition, and the axing of Adults Only does not affect the original show. In a statement, TEN noted, We are confident the show has complied with the Television Industry Code of Practice, and we have met all our undertakings. However, questions continue to be raised as to whether the show should be on air. We did not see that situation changing, regardless of how we treated the program, and that uncertainty was putting unfair pressure on our team. We have therefore decided the responsible and practical thing to do was conclude the show a few weeks early.

The series averaged about 1 million viewers each week.

From The Guardian

The Australian prime minister John Howard has called for Big Brother to be axed after two male housemates allegedly sexually assaulted a female contestant.

Howard condemned the Australian version of the reality TV series after footage of the incident was shown on the show's live internet streaming, though not on television.

One of the men reportedly held the young woman down while the other rubbed his crotch in her face. The alleged victim, 22-year-old Camilla Halliwell, was then forced to relive the experience before millions of viewers when she was questioned about the incident.

The behaviour of the two men has outraged campaigners against sexual violence and politicians, who have demanded the independent production company, Southern Star Endemol, and Australia's Channel Ten network dump the programme.

Howard said it was a question of taste: Here's a great opportunity for Channel Ten to do a bit of self-regulation and get this stupid programme off the air.

His views were shared by the opposition communications spokesman, Stephen Conroy, who said the incident was so serious that all the prize money should be donated to groups that help sex assault victims.

The two male housemates, Michael "Ashley" Cox and Michael "John" Bric, were ordered to leave the Big Brother house at the weekend. Police questioned them and Halliwell but have not pressed charges.

Clearly uncomfortable, Halliwell told fellow housemates how she had told one of the men that it wasn't "the right thing to do". "There was no malice intended ... and when I said very specifically to John, 'Don't. No,' he didn't do it," she said.

Broadcasting regulators in Australia have yet to make a decision on the programme's future.

  Update: Big Brother Community Standards

From New Zealand Herald

The sexual romp on Big Brother that outraged Australian sensitivities is likely to lead to new legal clamps on "reality" television shows.

It has also spurred the Government's determination to bring the internet to heel, with new laws being written to enforce censorship on new web and mobile phone services.

Communications Minister Senator Helen Coonan announced the moves yesterday after receiving a report on the "turkey slap" that saw two male housemates evicted from Channel Ten's Big Brother House.

It was not broadcast by Channel Ten, but the scene was streamed live on the internet and picked up by other websites - most of which later withdrew the segment at Coonan's request.

Australia's TV watchdog yesterday reported to Coonan that free-to-air standards did not apply to the incident because it had not been broadcast.

It also said existing online content regulations did not apply because the incident had been streamed live rather than stored for multiple viewings.

Coonan ordered the television watchdog to review the existing free-to-air television code of practice to determine if it provided "appropriate community standards" in regard to "reality" shows.

Update: Backlash Against Ludicrous Government Proposals

From Australian IT

Australian IT internet companies could be forced offshore if the federal Government introduces tough new rules for live broadcasts over the web, industry and user groups have warned.

The government's push to make footage shown on the internet subject to the same suitable-for-older-children rules as TV broadcasts comes amid an uproar over sex antics shown on the website for the Ten Network's hit reality TV show Big Brother.

But the internet industry and users fear the introduction of more laws could make it too difficult for web companies to continue operating in Australia. They say Australia already imposes the toughest rules in the world for internet operators, who might find it more appealing to transfer their businesses overseas where government has no control over what they show.

That's certainly one of the possibilities, Internet Industry Association chief executive Peter Coroneos said: We certainly share the government's and community's concerns about inappropriate content on the internet. But what we think is in the end we are going to have to rely more on technological empowerment of end users to make up for areas of regulatory failure simply because of the nature of the medium. The internet is not capable of being regulated in the same way as TV.

As well as new rules for internet broadcasts, the government has ordered a review of the TV code of practice to see if reality TV shows like Big Brother should be subject to tougher restrictions.

But Sydney University academic Catherine Lumby said such an idea was ridiculous. She said the Big Brother TV show this year had not breached any broadcasting rules or classification guidelines, suggesting the current regime worked.

The Big Brother "in your face" incident has been posted on YouTube. (free registration required)

Based on an article from Australian IT

Hardcore video porn delivered to 3G mobile phones will be outlawed by regulations to be unveiled by Communications Minister Helen Coonan today.

Under pressure for greater intervention from her own backbench, Senator Coonan will also outline future plans for limiting children's access to internet porn.

She will outline new rules for phone companies aimed at limiting the way mobile phones can be used to access pornographic internet services.

The new measures would strengthen censorship illegal and so called offensive content over 3G phones, which are capable of displaying full-motion video services from the internet.

A spokeswoman for Senator Coonan said the regulatory package would include mandatory requirements for phone companies to verify the age of customers using "adult chat rooms" that can be accessed via 3G phones.

They new rules would include child protection mechanisms that companies must enforce inside adult chat rooms.

Senator Coonan has been under pressure to curb internet pornography. Led by Tasmanian Senator Guy Barnett, 62 backbenchers wrote to Prime Minister John Howard demanding that internet service providers (ISPs) be forced to filter all services coming into Australia. Senator Coonan is expected to argue that "mandatory filtering" is not a practical solution, but will also put forward plans to limit porn.

Based on an article from From ABC

Federal Communications Minister Helen Coonan says she is preparing to extend bans on Internet pornography to mobile phones and other portable electronic devices.

The Government placed a ban on Internet pornography in 2000 and the current penalty for service providers that breach the law is $55,000 a day.

Senator Coonan says the Government wants to protect the community from inappropriate and harmful material. She says the changes will impose criminal charges for those who break the rules and will be similar to the safeguards in place for traditional media: It will include the prohibition of content rated, X18-plus and above as well as consumer advice and age restrictions on access to content suited only to adults. These prohibitions will be backed up by strong sanctions.

The Government's backbench committee on communications, led by Nationals MP Paul Neville, has expressed concern that proposed changes to media laws could threaten diversity and local content, particularly in regional areas.

Senator Coonan says she is still preparing up to nine pieces of legislation to support the reforms and is optimistic they can be implemented by the end of the year. But she says removing large parts parts of the legislation to address concerns will not be an option.

More on Refused Classification where this is a list of films banned in Australia

The Classification Board banned My Brother's Wife on May 31st. This is Siren's fourth hentai feature to be Refused Classification this year. Spotlight was banned earlier in the month, Hooligan in March, and Darling in January.

This DVD is available from Critical Mass Video with the following info

Producers Shyuuta Biwajima and Chikara Niki (HOT FOR TEACHER / NAUGHTY NURSES / DEBTS OF DESIRE) return with a tale of envy and lust as Takashi tries to win his brother's sexy wife for his own!

All his life, Takashi has been compared to his older brother, Satoshi. Satoshi is smarter. More athletic. More handsome. More successful. But despite the constant reminders that he's "not as good as his brother", Takashi was never jealous because Satoshi took him in after their parents died. But that was before Satoshi stole Miwa, the love of Takashi’s life, and married her.

Miwa. Both incredibly beautiful and kind, she captured Takashi's heart long before she ever agreed to marry his brother. And now that she’s Satoshi's wife, Takashi sees her every day. Sees her with him. Hears her having sex with him through the bedroom wall. And each day Takashi's jealousy towards his brother grows a little more.

But it seems the tables may turn when Takashi's voluptuous college professor discovers that Takashi scores in one way over his brother: his sexual prowess. Now with the right clothing, the right hairstyle, and lots and lots of hands-on sexual tutoring, she's going to turn Takashi into a ladies' man that even his brother will envy!

Update: Feb 2007: Passed

Passed when resubmitted in 2007 with cuts

Based on an article from Post Chronicle

Australia is to censor books and films that encourage terrorism, including those that support violent jihad or suicide bombings.

Australia's Attorney General Philip Ruddock has written to state and territory censorship ministers, asking them to work with the federal government on the crackdown.

Ruddock turned to the state and territorial officials after efforts on the federal level were blocked. The official said he was forced to act after the Australian Federal Police and the director of public prosecutions reported they were unable to use new sedition laws to pursue prosecutions.

You have to weigh up people's right to life and safety and security with freedom of expression, Ruddock said. And I think most reasonable people would take the view that publications that were likely to encourage or promote terrorism should be looked at very carefully.

Ruddock also asked the federal Classification Review Board to review its rulings that eight books and one film did not incite or promote violence.