Under the constitution, the Australian federal government has full power over all communications and customs.
Under the communications power the federal government can regulate the broadcast media, online services, and the import/export of printed matter, audiovisual recordings and computer games. However, the production of written materials, recordings and games is governed under state law.
The government bans certain materials according to the government's views on documents which may promote violent anarchist activity, such as acts of terrorism, or contain crude content.
There have only been 5 occasions of film censorship in Australia. One of such was the film Ken Park, featuring sex scenes involving minors. It also includes scenes of autoerotic asphyxiation, or the cutting off air to the brain for the purpose of sexual arousal.
Recognise this face?
That's Margaret Pomeranz from At The Movies on ABC Television.
She, amongst others, was arrested in 2000 for attempting to screen Ken Park, which she described as "a wonderful film," at a hall. She was later released and cautioned.
Who's that?!That familiar face is Tom Gleisner, host of The Panel, and the annoying judge on Thank God You're Here. He openly admitted, on national television, that he had downloaded and watched the film.
Yes, even former premier Bob Carr has claimed its banning to be highly "inappropriate".
It is not this banning of films, however, that has the most relevance and affects on our contemporary generation.
Internet censorship. Ever tried to access a website from school or TAFE, purely for educational purposes, of course, only to find it blocked?This is the result of heavy censorship on educational and occupational online censorship.
But is this website "blocking", always accurate?
A recent report by SmartFilter, the company controlling web censorship in association with the NSW state government, has found several sites to be unnecessarily blocked.
Do you know this man?Well, you shouldn't.
Why?
Because the government has wrongly denied access to Walter Wagner's home page, a highly informative site on the benefits of Internet banking and his association with a Swedish accountancy network. It has been filed under the category "Gambling."
Other blocked sites include:
- Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement (under the category "drugs")
- A copy of the works of Shakespeare ("Criminal Skills")
- The web's best known anti-hate speech site ("Hate Speech")
- And an assortment of non-sexual gay and lesbian sites, promoting acceptance and awareness (but according to the government they promote "Sex")
The average student is required to first log onto a Department of Education and Training Portal, meaning that every one of their virtual movements are being tracked and traced back to their name.
But is this really an attempt at online safety, or a paranoid ploy?
Speaking of, you may have recently noticed that a common billboard, titled "Want Longer Lasting SEX?" has been covered in a censored sticker, changing the question to "Want Longer Lasting CENSORED?"?
If the censorship of the "S" word seems ridiculous, then you'll be shocked to know that more complaints have flooded into the Advertising Standards Bureau of Australia, angered that the letter "S" is still visible.
Or, at least, part of it is...how rude!
What were they thinking?
