Comments on: GTA pushes the R18 issue in Australia http://www.daniels.net.nz/2008/04/27/gta-pushes-the-r18-issue-in-australia/ Opinions, like they mattered Sat, 11 Oct 2008 01:25:05 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: Alex Taylor http://www.daniels.net.nz/2008/04/27/gta-pushes-the-r18-issue-in-australia/#comment-17292 Alex Taylor Mon, 02 Jun 2008 04:12:01 +0000 http://www.daniels.net.nz/2008/04/27/gta-pushes-the-r18-issue-in-australia/#comment-17292 Yeah, I think this is a hilarious state of affairs, in New Zealand and moreso in Australia. I honestly can't understand the opponents to the R rating for games being brought in over the Tasman. "Think of the children" is *exactly* what the supporters are trying to do! In New Zealand, I've found that KMart incident is extremely rare. The fact is, although it is against the law, most parents don't care and most checkout operators don't think it is wrong because they're selling it to the parent (even though the kid is right there). I worked at The Warehouse for just over 4 years and I slipped one of those Internal Affairs brochures into the bags of parents who I knew were buying R rated games for their children. I couldn't prove they were buying for their kids most of the time and I verbally made them agree that they knew it was a restricted game before I sold it to them. I met the Chief Censor (Bill Hastings) at a community meeting a few years ago not long after Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was released in New Zealand. The shear number of parents and community members spouting off that it is harming our children was absolutely astounding! Bill Hastings was very quick to point out that any person supplying this game to a minor is doing so against the law no matter if they are a parent or a friend. The Internal Affairs brochure I used to slip into people's bags details the penalties for supplying restricted material to minors and that parents are not exempt. 3-months jail time and a substantial fine is the maximum penalty but the Department of Internal Affairs hasn't prosecuted anyone in years. When I spoke to the Chief Censor, he mentioned that it was something around the issue of "what I let my children do in my home is my business" that meant it was very difficult to enforce the law along with the fact that it is very hard to prove what goes on in someone's home. It isn't his job or his department's role to enforce the restriction of supply of material to minors, that is the job of Internal Affairs. However, they are just pansies. They should grow some balls and put the law through its paces. I often try to bring up the question of "would you let your children watch less interactive R18 material such as hardcore pornography?", parents always answer that with "no! But porn is different". I still haven't found a decent come back to that except to laugh. All I can say is "you're saying something that is natural and necessary for the survival of our species being displayed is far worse than immersing your impressionable children in a world of violence, guns and mass-murder!?". That mentality astounds me no end. TL;DR: Internal Affairs should start finding a way of prosecuting people. Yeah, I think this is a hilarious state of affairs, in New Zealand and moreso in Australia. I honestly can’t understand the opponents to the R rating for games being brought in over the Tasman. “Think of the children” is *exactly* what the supporters are trying to do!

In New Zealand, I’ve found that KMart incident is extremely rare. The fact is, although it is against the law, most parents don’t care and most checkout operators don’t think it is wrong because they’re selling it to the parent (even though the kid is right there).

I worked at The Warehouse for just over 4 years and I slipped one of those Internal Affairs brochures into the bags of parents who I knew were buying R rated games for their children. I couldn’t prove they were buying for their kids most of the time and I verbally made them agree that they knew it was a restricted game before I sold it to them.

I met the Chief Censor (Bill Hastings) at a community meeting a few years ago not long after Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was released in New Zealand. The shear number of parents and community members spouting off that it is harming our children was absolutely astounding! Bill Hastings was very quick to point out that any person supplying this game to a minor is doing so against the law no matter if they are a parent or a friend.

The Internal Affairs brochure I used to slip into people’s bags details the penalties for supplying restricted material to minors and that parents are not exempt. 3-months jail time and a substantial fine is the maximum penalty but the Department of Internal Affairs hasn’t prosecuted anyone in years.

When I spoke to the Chief Censor, he mentioned that it was something around the issue of “what I let my children do in my home is my business” that meant it was very difficult to enforce the law along with the fact that it is very hard to prove what goes on in someone’s home. It isn’t his job or his department’s role to enforce the restriction of supply of material to minors, that is the job of Internal Affairs. However, they are just pansies. They should grow some balls and put the law through its paces.

I often try to bring up the question of “would you let your children watch less interactive R18 material such as hardcore pornography?”, parents always answer that with “no! But porn is different”. I still haven’t found a decent come back to that except to laugh. All I can say is “you’re saying something that is natural and necessary for the survival of our species being displayed is far worse than immersing your impressionable children in a world of violence, guns and mass-murder!?”. That mentality astounds me no end.

TL;DR: Internal Affairs should start finding a way of prosecuting people.

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