Australia wants to censor online games

don't knock the australian government - it's got nothing else to do.....

i know, i live here and all the major parties do is snipe at each other whilst the lunatic fringe (he's got a seat in parliament), grabs his little, inconsequential hobby-horse('s) in the hope the christians are going to pave his way to heaven.

... and their outright control freak attitude. They don't want to listen to reason.

And to think I once thought about visiting Australia....

The DPRA is becoming as stalinistic as the DPRK. What's next, a nuclear weapons program and a long range missile program? Threats against the U.S.A.? Entry onto the U.S. list of "terrorist" nations?

Gosh, the way things are going in Asia, it won't be long before the Chicoms will be the only moderates in the area.

The Aussies were supposed to be tolerant free willed and supporters of free expression and speech, seems they're just a bunch of nannies, or at least their politicos are. They need to have a purge.

Under the Rudd Government virtually anything is for sale to the Chinese at present ... especially the mining companies.

The Chinese seem pretty keen to buy up over here and Kevin seems to be helping them.

Did I mention he speaks fluent Cantonese and served as a diplomatic attache to China previously.

I think he may have sold us out.

I must admit he seems a pretty nice bloke though.

At least he doesn't seem to be in as much poo as the UK PM ... poor bugger.

We need a president ...
elect the richest guy around ... Murdoch?

the sooner rudd and his Croney mates are booted the better its all wong and is really starting to pong bring on A double dissolution real soon.

There are many campaigns active against such stupid things. If you don't like what is going on.. . er.. how about you say some thing ;)

Aussies unfortunately seemingly are so "she'll be right bruce" about the political process. Politics is left to undergrad uni students and balding middle aged gentleman.

Either way.. http://www.getup.org.au/ these lads manage to get local air time

this will be interesting.. they will be blocking ebay too! you can buy R18+ games there too..

God they are bloody idiots..

To see what Rudd shall do next, pay attention to what Democrats in the US are doing. He has so far followed in there footsteps and has done what he has been told to do. I guess we are a testing ground for the NWO, to see if the people shall swallow these proposed laws.

Gun restrictions, hard line christian based censorship rules, less-regulated banking rules and regulations changed to appease those in the US namely Timothy Geithner head of the privatly run US Fed Reserve, the greenhouse emmision trading tax scam and our police state laws with no regard for international human rights. Lets not forget the so called bikie laws. You can get arrested for hanging with your mates (in public or privatly) if your shirts are of the same colour or if your clothing styles are similar! Legaly it applies to all people and organizations, not just bikers...

I am sure there are some other good examples out there. We are more of a lap dog than we ever where to the US with Rudd :( Infact we are like the old USA. IMHO your new marijuana laws in most of the states there proves how backwards we really are. We still prefer to lock them up down under and we love to persecute users like they are big time mafia drug lords.

If you voted for Rudd because you thought it would be easy street on the dole ROTFLMAO. The new Centerlink rules come in soon. Working for the Dole is now compulsory! You shall be forced to plant trees, do labouring work or help down at the local church organization.

Only good news, it is easy to come to Australia these days to receive these bennifits if your a refugee. Free public housing with all the appliances and furniture you need, free Health, free Education and a few thousand dollars in shopping money awaits you!
All debts are now cancelled no need to repay your detention fees, so invite your entire family along for the ride of a lifetime.

I listen to a lot of ABC online and for a lot of issues, I have to say I admire the more strict, no nonsense way the Australian gov't handles them. I mean, what are young people really missing out on by not being able to view/play a lot of these pretty horrible games: murder, mayhem, sorcery...oh yeah, give us more of that, it will make us all much better people...UGH! Here in Canada and the US as well, the token warnings and age ratings don't do anything to protect young people. Half the time parents aren't clued into what their kids are playing. It's sad crud filling our young people's minds. Why is everyone on such a trip about letting people see and do all the crap they want, but when someone wants to protect youth from it that's so bad??? I think people need to get a perspective on what we should really be fighting for. Sensorship is only bad when it is keeping people from something beneficial, not garbage.

Does Kevin Dud and his government got better things to do? Like working out how to fix the debt they have giving us in the last year… dam

Democracy gives the chance for every voter to do something stupid!

I was totally shocked by this article...we are going beyond the strange now, as an adult I have the right to make decisions for myself...how on earth do these people even THINK they have the right to decide if I play a "game" or not! If we must be age "verified" fair enough but no way on earth should we Aussies put up with this attack on our rights and civil liberties! I play Second Life...and I've met some wonderful people...not perverts, weirdoes or otherwise unsuitable people...but lovely friends that I will be extremely angry about losing if this sort of rubbish gets passed!

Aussies unite and fight this attack on us!

...You don't seem to understand Nick Farrell's tongue-in-cheek/ironic/sardonic writing style.

Certainly the Australian government is trying to take greater steps to filter the internet.

But a lot of you have taken it into your hearts like a religion that the internet can never ever be controlled or filtered in a way which prevents illegal profiteering or reduces harmful effects to the vulnerable while allowing all legitimate content through. And so you cry blue murder at any attempt - or even any stated intention - to do so.

Especially Rich Wargo - your comments are over-the-top hysterical nonsense. Maybe you are trying be more like Nick Farrell than Nick himself, but otherwise it's pretty nutcasial(TM) to suggest that the government's agenda would extend to nuclear weapons and state terrorism.

Furthermore, Karen, many Australian and global corporations and organisations and community groups already do use Second Life - so I don't think you should take Nick Farrell's conjectural claims seriously when he says that an unrated Second Life will be blocked.

The cleverest comment on this page is the first one by Ushere. The "Lunatic Fringe" with a seat in the Australian parliament is Senator Steve Fielding of the "Family First" party - a party ostensibly made up entirely from the right-wing conservative evangelical Christian movment.

Honestly, he has nothing to do with this particular move to filter/censor the internet - it's entirely a government idea, but he has a deciding vote in the Senate, and he is quite happy to use it in self-aggrandising and populist ways just to increase the profile of his party in the Australian parliament. Just now he has *suddenly* become a climate-change skeptic so he can get the government's attention to negotiate with his demands.

And it's always intriguing to see all the haters come out and speak against the Labor government without stating what their own conservative affiliations and agendas are. Because that's the other truth - the Opposition parties are even more conservative and backwards, and frankly they believe the internet is just a curiosity which as an aside to real life deserves no public investment. Meanwhile the Labor government is working to build greater internet infrastructure to enhance life and work in this country. Yes, it costs money - our money, even our future money, but it's also *for* the future - longterm.

Oh my - this is SOOOOOO pathetic.

SEX... OK I started to play mummies and daddies or doctors and nurses when I was in grade one....

Great. Had a number of prepubescent gropings and explorations behind the shelter sheds and "down the bushes" behind the footy oval. Hit puberty or sexually matured enough to begin breeding at 14 and went for it hammer and tong, and have never looked back.

Now the cultists in the second hand jewish religion called christianity - of which none practice any of the "original" (?) religions customs (cheese and bacon burger anyone?) are pushing for the family friendly "ratings system", when their own alleged founder said he was going to come back and take to use all with a sword and burn the rest in flaming pits.

Since I am supposed to be ashamed of my body and my sinful nightly emissions and my joy of masturbation (which I am really good at by the way) and I am an inherantly hard wired sexual being, just like the other monkeys, dogs, cats, blow flies, fish, ants, fungus and bacteria etc, now these cultists - are going to start dictating the definitions of "explicit"?

Like is a provocative pose of the "cartoon characters" pouting open mouth provocative only really arousing IF the vagina, penis or anus, which may or may not be viewed, either by it's self or in use; is viewed as well.

Hmmmmmmm Now we see ourselves naked, we see our friends and family naked, we see our sexual intimates naked, and now we are not supposed to be seeing games where the cartoon characters are naked?

Ohhhh OK. I get it - the religious cultists are expecting us to abide by their really insane standards, that they set for us, in order to control us... through shame, guilt, fear, intimidation and humiliation; so that we too can be well adjusted like them.

Let me see wasn't it a pack of religious people with names like Bush, Wolfowitz, Cheney, John Howard and the people in the Australian Liberal Party, and Tony Blair and Co., who lied to use about the non existant Weapons of Mass Destruction? - and started to escalate the long standing sanctions against the people of Iraq - which killed millions of people there; into a war - for the oil in that country?

Oh I understand the big lie now - the people up to all this bad stuff are only bad if it's "them" doing it and not us. Cause if it's US doing it, it's fine and can be covered up with all sorts of whackjob excuses, such as, "We are doing it for the protection of our national interests" etc. - or "It's for your own good".

I tend to play only fairly retarded games like "Warzone 2100" (something like Red Alert), or user written games of Doom 2 - for the really interesting scenery; but I really think censors ought to be made to feel as if they are not in the least bit welcome to stick their views down other peoples throats.

"Oh nooooo the car shase game has an animated sex scene in it!!!! Shriek...... well so what. Again the ministrations of the cult called christianity, and the equally infantile press jump on board that one.

That for me just gives me more reasons never to participate in the rituals of that cult or buy the magazines or news papers that run that kind of sensationalised drivel, if only to make more sales.

Ugghhh spare me, If the people who choose to censor anything, try to stick it down my or anyone else's throat - whether it be a US lead sanction of technology against other countries, or online gaming - I'd support the principle of circumventing that corporate or religious or government oppression.

Why? Because it's not their place to be standing over peoples right to exercise reasonable choices in their participation in our global community.

There is allot of complaints on Child Soldiers in Africa, they mostly do not own power and game consoles, but what they do have is real A-K47's, M-16's and the like.

How are these trained? Does the war lords they are under have access to power and computers, consoles, games? Are they used to train the children on warfare?

You may complain about China, Australia, Hey what do you know I'm complaining about Africa, only? Ha! The only difference to Jungle warfare to the urban ones, you just graphically change the trees to building in the games.

Another thing, games was said to be the future and what dreams are made of, correct! The future and dreams has a habit to become reality, think about that when a 5 year old points a REAL loaded gun at you.

you can't beat the internet really, all this money is going to go down the tube. Just setup a VPN via New Zealand or something and access the forbidden internet through that.

Wow! Finally! I found a place dumber than Texas!

Australia’s ban of Second Life and other similar sites sets a dangerous precedent that should strike fear into the hearts of free people everywhere. A “free” country that has a “Minister for Censorship!?” This is something we might expect from China, North Korea or Iran, but Australia!? The Nazis would be so proud!

Those who call themselves “Christians” or “Moral,” might see this as a “victory” over “evil.” But for them, as well as all who applaud this travesty of freedom I will quote Benjamin Franklin, who said:

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

It appears the people of Australia are still prisoners, exiled as were their forefathers and permitted only the
1984 or 2009?

1984 or 2009?

“freedoms” their masters deem fit. It will be interesting to see if they accept this Orwellian destiny or rise up and demand the freedoms so many of them have given their blood to defend around the world.

As for Second Life (SL) and its “danger” as a source of adult content; SL is no more or less dangerous than the rest of the Internet. Those who wish to can find virtually anything they want on the Internet, good, bad or indifferent.

It should be up to adults and parents, not a “Nanny State,” to take the steps necessary to limit exposure to content they deem inappropriate for themselves or their children. This can be done at the individual PC or user level.

By banning access to Second Life, the Australian government is not only cutting off access to “adult” content, but also art, music, education and collaboration opportunities that have the potential to enlighten, inspire and improve the lives of its citizens, young and old alike. If the government of Australia succeeds in censoring SL from their citizens, those of us who work, learn and yes “play” in Second Life will miss the tremendous spirit and contributions our Australian brothers and sisters make to SL everyday.
May Liberty Prevail!

May Liberty Prevail!

I close with a quote from another of our (American) Founding Fathers, that I hope will be taken to heart by all those who love freedom in Australia and around the world:

“”The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” Thomas Jefferson

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- Sibley

Internet censorship is only the beginning, Police are being given the right to search citizens without reasonable cause. What happened to our right to privacy.