Australia censors terrorism books
By Nick Bryant
BBC News, Sydney
The Australian government has announced plans to outlaw material that advocates terrorism – a move designed to tighten its already strict censorship rules.
Books and films deemed to glorify terrorism will be removed from shelves and barred from entering the country.
The government says the changes are part of its zero tolerance policy towards terrorism.
But critics say they will lead to the censorship of material helpful to those wishing to understand radical Islam.
Present laws restrict the publication or dissemination of materials which promote, incite or instruct people to carry out terrorist acts.
The amended law would mark a significant extension of censorship powers, outlawing books and films deemed to speak out in favour of terrorist violence.
The new law would be targeted at removing the material from publication, rather than punishing its authors, and customs officers would be given much broader powers to confiscate books and films being imported into the country.
Civil libertarians have already been critical of the existing laws brought in by Prime Minister John Howard’s government, allowing the forced removal of books, claiming they limit legitimate research into terrorism and its causes.
As the Australian Society of Authors put it: “We can’t refute what we can’t read”.
But the government has dismissed these concerns, saying public safety overrides the issue of free speech.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6551003.stm
Published: 2007/04/13 03:51:07 GMT
© BBC MMVII
How strong is their supreme court?
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How strong is their supreme court?
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I wonder… would this cover movies like Michael Collins that “glorify” the IRA? Somehow I doubt it… Though saying it’s material that advocates terrorism is sort of a gray area, somewhat similar to incitement to riot I guess, but I still don’t like it.
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I wonder… would this cover movies like Michael Collins that “glorify” the IRA? Somehow I doubt it… Though saying it’s material that advocates terrorism is sort of a gray area, somewhat similar to incitement to riot I guess, but I still don’t like it.
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ROFLSAURUS. Silly fools… People need to know about stuff to understand it. x
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ROFLSAURUS. Silly fools… People need to know about stuff to understand it. x
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Shuk: It’s perfectly legal according to the Australian Constitution, which allows the Australian government to govern the “communications and customs” of the Australia people. This covers broadcast media, online services, and import/export of printed matter, audiovisual recordings, and computer games. So the Supreme Court’s kind of a non-issue here.
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Shuk: It’s perfectly legal according to the Australian Constitution, which allows the Australian government to govern the “communications and customs” of the Australia people. This covers broadcast media, online services, and import/export of printed matter, audiovisual recordings, and computer games. So the Supreme Court’s kind of a non-issue here.
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I’m with Shuk, this should be gunned down by whatever ruling court protects their civil rights. One would think they have some of value down under… Later,
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I’m with Shuk, this should be gunned down by whatever ruling court protects their civil rights. One would think they have some of value down under… Later,
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*shakes head* this makes me embarassed to be Australian. They’re just trying to make it go away – “If we can’t see it, it’s not there.” Such a juvenile attitude to have. “If I close my eyes and ignore it, it’ll just go away.” But it’s just not the case. You can’t learn from something if you don’t see both sides of it. 🙁 xo
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*shakes head* this makes me embarassed to be Australian. They’re just trying to make it go away – “If we can’t see it, it’s not there.” Such a juvenile attitude to have. “If I close my eyes and ignore it, it’ll just go away.” But it’s just not the case. You can’t learn from something if you don’t see both sides of it. 🙁 xo
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