This thread is a work in progress to catalogue and discuss the light novels, manga and any other piece of Japanese media that have been banned from sale, import, exhibition and ownership by the government-controlled Australian Classification Board (ACB).
In late February, 2020, two Senators from the SA-Best Party based in the state of South Australia launched a crusade against Japanese light novels, manga and anime that they deemed to be 'child exploitation material', demanding that the federal government step in to ban the offending media. I made a video at the time debunking the arguments made by Stirling Griff, one of the Senators who kicked off the campaign. As a result of the SA-Best Party's actions, bookstores were harassed, prices for the banned books shot up significantly with the birth of a black market, and Customs Officers have started seizing imported books and submitting them to the Classification Board - this was how almost all volumes of To Love Ru Darkness were banned, with the first and last volumes requiring a literal bag to hide them.
Much like the U.S.A., Australia has a(n alleged) separation of federal and state laws. This applies especially to the legality of ownership of media that has been Refused Classification (the definition being that RC media cannot be sold nor publicly displayed in Australia). A more detailed breakdown of RC and the criticisms surrounding it can be found here (PDF file). Below is a yes/no list of states and territories where mere ownership of RC media is illegal (as of 2022).
The SA-Best Party ran for office in the March 2022 state election for South Australia. Only 2,171 people voted for them, obtaining zero seats. In the Australian federal election held in May 2022 - running as the Centre Alliance - 36,500 South Australians (3.3% of all preferential votes) awarded them one seat in Federal Parliament. It is safe to say that there is largely no political will from Australian voters to ban offensive Japanese media.
The Australian government/Classification Board reserves the exclusive right to regulate/ban/censor any media it desires, provided the reasons fall in line with legislation. The primary reason Japanese media is being scrutinized is in relation to community standards, gross offence and 'depictions of child sexual exploitation'. Here are my criticisms:
I'll be coming back to this thread over the next few days, but feel free to contribute any more information you find.
BACKGROUND
In late February, 2020, two Senators from the SA-Best Party based in the state of South Australia launched a crusade against Japanese light novels, manga and anime that they deemed to be 'child exploitation material', demanding that the federal government step in to ban the offending media. I made a video at the time debunking the arguments made by Stirling Griff, one of the Senators who kicked off the campaign. As a result of the SA-Best Party's actions, bookstores were harassed, prices for the banned books shot up significantly with the birth of a black market, and Customs Officers have started seizing imported books and submitting them to the Classification Board - this was how almost all volumes of To Love Ru Darkness were banned, with the first and last volumes requiring a literal bag to hide them.
THE LIST OF BANNED MEDIA
- No Game No Life - Banned in July 2020 (light novels only; manga and anime still available)
- To Love Ru Darkness - Banned in July 2022 (only volumes 1 and 17 available to purchase)
CURRENT LEGISLATION REGARDING BANNED/REFUSED CLASSIFICATION MEDIA
Much like the U.S.A., Australia has a(n alleged) separation of federal and state laws. This applies especially to the legality of ownership of media that has been Refused Classification (the definition being that RC media cannot be sold nor publicly displayed in Australia). A more detailed breakdown of RC and the criticisms surrounding it can be found here (PDF file). Below is a yes/no list of states and territories where mere ownership of RC media is illegal (as of 2022).
- New South Wales (NSW) - No
- Queensland (QLD) - No
- Victoria (VIC) - No
- Tasmania (TAS) - No
- South Australia (SA) - No
- Western Australia (WA) - Yes
- Australian Capital Territory/Canberra (ACT) - No
- Northern Territory (NT) - Yes
WHERE IS THE SA-BEST PARTY TODAY?
The SA-Best Party ran for office in the March 2022 state election for South Australia. Only 2,171 people voted for them, obtaining zero seats. In the Australian federal election held in May 2022 - running as the Centre Alliance - 36,500 South Australians (3.3% of all preferential votes) awarded them one seat in Federal Parliament. It is safe to say that there is largely no political will from Australian voters to ban offensive Japanese media.
ADDRESSING THE FLAWED LEGAL ARGUMENTS TO BAN MEDIA
The Australian government/Classification Board reserves the exclusive right to regulate/ban/censor any media it desires, provided the reasons fall in line with legislation. The primary reason Japanese media is being scrutinized is in relation to community standards, gross offence and 'depictions of child sexual exploitation'. Here are my criticisms:
- Community standards change over time. The Australian community of today is not the same as ten, or even five, years ago. Moral consensus is subject to change for a variety of reasons, rendering the enshrinement of morality utterly useless in this particular scenario.
- Community standards are a pointless numbers game. To restrict media based on what is known as the 'reasonable adult test' is merely assuming more people agree with your opinions than disagree. In the event of a court case, both sides would essentially be arguing on the basis that a non-existent referendum from the Australian people said 'yes/no' on the question of banning each and every individual piece of disputed media. The difference here is that, unless enough people can convince the unelected members of the ACB to rescind their initial decision, the government will always side with itself.
- There is no evidence of offensive media inflicting harm. The common justification for banning offensive media is that the material in question causes real-world, psychological and even physical harm to vulnerable people. Stirling Griff claimed that 'experts' say media such as No Game No Life are being used by paedophiles to groom children. This is a false equivalence, as I addressed in my video linked above; what the 'experts' have done is equate Japanese media with regular/illegal pornography (which can be used to groom children). The phrase 'can be' is academic-speak for: 'I don't actually know one way or the other, I'm just going off my gut feeling'. There is no academic nor anecdotal evidence to support the argument that anime in particular is responsible for child sexual abuse.
- There is no evidence to suggest the banned media is child pornography/inspired by real acts. The ACB has never produced any evidence that the Japanese media in question have been influenced/inspired/traced over, in any way, by real-life acts of child sexual exploitation. Every single decision falls back on Australian law as their argument. No consideration is given for the academic evidence surrounding harmful media and what effects (if any) they have on people. Even if they did consider the evidence it does not matter, because the law simply states that any media which contradicts its moralistic, subjective guidelines must be banned. No-one in a position of power is willing to change/remove the laws responsible.
I'll be coming back to this thread over the next few days, but feel free to contribute any more information you find.
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