[LINK] Historical Curio of the Day - The FILTER......

[Tom Koltai]

Annecdotally, Senator Conroy is not attempting to introduce anything
particularly new.... he is merely 
repeating Australian Political history.
Please note item (c) below.
In 1929 it became the role of HM customs, not Communications to censor
and I quote verbatim:

>From page 760  from the 1930 Cwlth Yearbook under the heading........

CHAPTER XXVI.—MISCELLANEOUS.§ 11. Film Censorship.

1. Legislation. The censorship of imported films derives its authority
from section
52 (g) of the Customs Act, which is the section giving authority to
prohibit the
importation of goods. Under this section proclamations have been issued
prohibiting
the importation of films and relative advertising matter except under
certain conditions
and with the consent of the Minister. The conditions governing
importation are contained
in regulations issued under the Customs Act and provide, inter alia,
that no film
shall be registered which in the opinion of the censor is,(a)
blasphemous, indecent or obscene; (b) likely to be injurious to
morality, or to encourage or incite to crime;
(c) likely to be offensive to the people of any friendly nation; (d)
likely to be offensive
to the people of the British Empire; or (e) depicts any matter the
exhibition of which
is undesirable in the public interests. 
----------------------------------------
The part I really enjoyed was " except under certain conditions
and with the consent of the Minister"

So to overturn this filter thing - we just need the consent of the
minister for customs.
Nope - I don’t believe the section 52(g) has ever been repealed......

The entire suite of Australian Yearbooks first published in 1908 is now
available from :

http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/second+level+view?ReadForm&prodn
o=1301.0&viewtitle=Year%20Book%20Australia~1963~Previous~01/01/1963&&tab
name=Past%20Future%20Issues&prodno=1301.0&issue=1963&num=&view=&

A most excellent historical tool.




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