The government has opted to outlaw a pro-euthanasia advert on the grounds that it promotes suicide. The advert shows an actor speaking of suffering and disease, asking the government to listen to those who want to practice assisted suicide. It has been more than ten years since a pro-euthanasia advert was broadcast in Australia.
Australia’s ruling Labor party has called for smartphone applications and games to face the national censor. A loophole in the Classification Act (1995) means that games distributed or playable on mobile phones, including the Apple iPhone, are not submitted to the national Classification Board, which classifies films and computer games before they are released to the public.
The Indonesian government has placed a ban on the screening of the Australian feature film Balibo due to its sensitive issues.
The film tells the story of 5 Australian based journalists who were killed in the town of Balibo in Timor Leste in 1975. The Film Censorship Board in Indonesia argues that it could ‘reopen old wounds’ about East Timor. A screening of Balibo was orginally scheduled at the 11th Jakarta International Film Festival (JIFFest) but was cancelled after the festival committee received notification of the ban on Tuesday.
Canberra’s idea of an internet filter that has proved unpopular with its citizens. Quentin McDermott reports
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