I was watching “It’s not quite hollywood” last night, after my Tivo faithfully recorded it. It’s about the Australian period genre from the 70′s and 80′s. It started me thinking a bit. Yes a dangerous thing at the best of times.

One of the thing that was brought up was, prior to the 70′s Australia had one of the most oppressive censorship regimes in the world. I’m starting to wonder if we aren’t heading back to those days at a rate of knots.

• No R18+ Rating for Video Games.
• New Internet Filter being rammed down our throats by a Government that is fully aware that the majority of Australian’s don’t want it.
• Stop and search laws already introduced or being introduced by every state for the police. Ie. No reasonable suspicion needed for them to ask you to empty your pockets, and body search you.
• Oppressive speeding laws, over zealous enforcement, covert speed enforcement, and revenue raising, which is against best practice by most countries in the world. Especially those with Long straight stretches of road that have limits so low, they create so much boredom they put drivers to sleep.
• Generally being treated like children as far as making our own decisions are concerned.

It just seems to be a growing trend in this country, that no one is allowed to break conservative social norms. I’m starting to wonder if we aren’t creating the problems we are currently seeing with Youth, and alocohol and binge drinking.

Kids are babied and protected in a world that is supposedly more dangerous than the generations before hand. Mind you there is no evidence to support this. The crime rate is lower than the 50′s which is idealised as a better time. People are scared of their neighbours cause we are told they can’t be trusted. Kids can’t be trusted to make mistakes anymore, and we wonder why they go crazy when they get to 18. Are kids allowed to be kids anymore? I don’t think so.

I feel like my every move is being watched. In my home, at work, and on the street. We need this to stop the bad things happening. ‘What bad things?’. In times when crime rates are low, people are more paranoid and scared. STOP IT!

In Australia right now. We are seeing more and more legislation and stupidity all under the guise of ‘we have to protect the children’. I thought that is why we have parents. Increasingly the freedoms you receive by being an adult (ie, over 18) being eroded by over zealous fringe groups trying to rescue us from ourselves. I didn’t realise I needed rescuing.

So instead of having an adult category for playing games. We are stuck with an archaic MA15+ as the maximum rating. Lets review this:

• Can I walk into a newsagent, service station or corner store and buy a R18+ magazine? Yes
• Can I go on to the internet and order pornography with a X18+ rating from the ACT? Yes
• Can I go into a book store and buy a book with content that is graphic, gory, and rates R18+? Yes.
• Can I go into a video store and hire an R18+ horror film? Yes.

For some dumb reason the latest adult gore fest I’m not allowed to buy, because it has been refused classification.

Do we have a democratic process for deciding whether we have an R18+ classification for games? No.

To have a change in the classification regime in Australia takes ‘ALL’ states attorney-generals to agree. Not a majority, not 70%, but 100% of them. We have one holding out. The attorney-general from South Australia believes that we don’t need an adult rating. That children need protecting from adult games. I’m not saying we should be letting children play games rated for adults, but why is a video store clerk, any less able to check id’s than say a store clerk selling cigarettes, or a video store renting out R18+ videos.

I find this hypocritical that we can trust all these other publications, and sellers, but not video games. The average age of gamers in Australia is 30 and increasing all the time. The majority of people playing these games are adult, not children, and deserve to be treated as such.

Michael Atkinson has started to bait opponents of his to take him on at the next election in South Australia. He feels pretty confident in doing this, as he currently sits in one of the safest labor party seats in the country. So he has nothing to fear by this. The only way to have an impact would to be target marginal labor seats in South Australia at the next election, to send a message that people are not happy about his decision.

The Office for Film and Lietrature Classification office has “An R18+ Classification for Computer Games – Public Consultation” currently open. As much as I think it’s a going through the motions exercise as nothing can change without Michael Atkinsons support (or a change of government in South Australia), I believe it’s still important to make yourself heard.

I have been a little out of the loop recently, but this has bought me back out of my shell. Our lovely communication minister came out yesterday. Not in the gay sense of the word, but in the stupidity stakes. I never thought that Australia could have a communications minister that was less informed than those that were around during Johnny Howards rein on Australia.

I was wrong.

Senator Conroy in all his wisdom has decided we can not be adults in this country. That we don’t know how to limit ourselves to what we can and can not watch. That we need to be protected from internet nasties. With the familiar cry of, ‘Who will protect the children’. This man (i use the term loosely), has decided to paint anyone that disagrees with him a pedophile, or sexual predator. Because you won’t allow him to protect the children.

You may think I am over reacting. I don’t really think so. A plan that has this sort of wide reaching ability to apply restrictions to what we see/do on the internet, would have some kind of oversight. An independant body, a strong review policy etc. It’s run by a government department, based on complaints from the public, with no procedural fairness, and zero oversight. I wasn’t sure when I moved to Iran or China, but obviously it has happened while I slept.

It’s time to get on to your local member, and let them know how you feel. If you aren’t sure who that is, try this.

http://apps.aec.gov.au/esearch/