Police Target Australian Graffiti Magazines
September 11th 2009
The Wentworthville branch of the NSW Police recently submitted two Aussie graffiti magazines to the Classification Board for rating.
DEATH FROM ABOVE #1: Banned in Australia
Issue #1 (May 2003) of the Melbourne produced DEATH FROM ABOVE was Refused Classification on September 1st 2009. According to www.graffiti.org it...
"...is a strong sample of things to come from the writers in Melbourne City. Its high quality pages are camouflaged well by its rugged design and appearance. The majority of the photos, which were carefully selected, are trains spanning the years 2001-2003 and reflect the many styles of the city. The train flicks, consisting of E2Es, T2Bs, window downs, inside bombs, etc. would probably even make a NY pioneer long for blockbuster nights gone by. Walls and other surfaces are not as plentiful as the metal, but our friends at DxFxAx did put together a nice b&w centerfold of hand styles, throws and other spontaneous markings. All in all, a solid debut."
See the January 15th 2009 update at the bottom of this page for important information about this title.
CITY CIRCLE MAGAZINE #2: Rated Unrestricted
A little luckier was Issue 2 (May 2009) of CITY CIRCLE MAGAZINE which was rated M (Not recommended for readers under 15 years), also on September 1st.
This is another Melbourne based graffiti magazine though it is unclear what makes it an M-rating and DEATH FROM ABOVE an RC.
Their MySpace page has this to say.
"..anyone who has a conection to this country and this scene! trains trains trains! our magazine is designed to highlight a passanger train scene in australia, it is getting harder and harder to obtain pics these days and we need you contributions to keep the magazine going"
Back in December 2008 the Director of the Classification Board actually called in Issue #1 for review. As of writing, there is no record of this having being rated.
Australian Government
Classification Board
Donald McDonald AC
Director
Editor
City Circle Magazines
Notice to submit publication for classification within three days
I am writing to advise you that I have reviewed the following publication and that you are now required to submit an application for classification of this publication within three business days.
Title: City Circle Magazine
Date of issue: November 2007
Volume: Issue One
Australian publisher/distributor: City Circle Magazines
Number of pages: 44
Country of origin: Australia
Under sub-section 46(1) of the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Enforcement Act 1995 (NSW), if:
(a) the Director has reasonable grounds to believe
that a publication is a submittable publication, and
(b) the publication is being published in New South Wales, or the Director has
reasonable grounds to believe that it will be published in New South
Wales,
the Director may, by notice in writing given to the publisher of the publication, require the publisher to submit an application under the Commonwealth Act for classification of the publication (or of subsequent issues of the publication).
`Submittable publication' is defined in section 5 of the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Gaines) Act 1995 (Cth) (the Classification Act) to mean:
an unclassified publication that, having regard to section 9A or to the Code and the classification guidelines to the extent that they relate to publications, contains depictions or descriptions that:
(a) are likely to cause the publication to be
classified RC;
(b) are likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult to the extent that the
publication should not be sold or displayed as an unrestricted publication;
or
(c) are unsuitable for a minor to see or read.
Publish' is defined in section 5 of the Classification Act to include 'sell, offer for sale, let on hire, exhibit, display, distribute and demonstrate'.
I have reasonable grounds to believe the above named publication is a submittable publication and I believe it has been published in New South Wales.
I have therefore decided to issue this notice requiring the publisher to submit an application for classification of the publication. .
Information about how to apply, including the application form and fees, is available at www.classification.gov.au . You may also wish to contact David Emery, the Applications Manager, on (02) 9289 7100.
It is an offence not to comply within three business days after receiving this notice.
A notice of my decision will be published in the Commonwealth Gazette.
Donald McDonald
Director 3 December 2008
Graffiti and the censors
In recent years games, magazines, and DVDs with graffiti content have been the subject of increased censorship.
In the 2005-06 annual report of the Standing Committee of Attorneys General (Censorship) it was mentioned that the SA Attorney-General Michael Atkinson wanted to change the RC-rating to make it even easier to ban films, games, and books that feature graffiti. However this was opposed by the other ministers and the issue was dropped from the agenda by the time of the next annual report.
Back in January issue #8 of DIRTY DEEDS magazine was banned by the Classification Board. This was a result of the same call for submission that targeted issue #1 of CITY CIRCLE MAGAZINE.
June 2006 saw the graffiti DVD 70K Refused Classification by the censors. The OFLC subsequently warned the Melbourne Underground Film Festival against screening it in 2007.
Finally, in February 2006 the Review Board overturned the MA15+ (Strong Violence, Strong Themes) classification that had been awarded to Mark Ecko's graffiti game GETTING UP: CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE, and instead rated it RC.
UPDATE: DEATH FROM ABOVE #1: NOT Banned in Australia
January 15th 2010
The Classification Board have informed us that DEATH FROM ABOVE #1 has not been banned in Australia, but is instead Unrestricted.
The Classification Board's database now lists it as:
DEATH FROM ABOVE ISSUE ONE Enforcement
(Magazine)
Classification Unrestricted
Consumer Advice
Category Enforcement - Publication
Version ORIGINAL
Duration 40 pages
Date of Classification 13/08/2009
Author N/A
Publisher N/A
Production Company
Country of Origin AUSTRALIA
Applicant NSW POLICE SERVICE - WENTWORTHVILLE
File Number L09/3995
Classification Number 235966
However back in September it was most definitely listed as RC. Here is the entry that we copied from the database at the time, but which is now missing.
DEATH FROM ABOVE ISSUE ONE PC-87
Classification RC
Consumer Advice
Category PC-87
Version
Duration
Date of Classification 2/09/2009
Author N/A
Publisher N/A
Production Company
Country of Origin AUSTRALIA
Applicant NSW POLICE SERVICE - WENTWORTHVILLE
File Number L09/3995
Classification Number 235967
The Classification Board have told us that the RC entry was an error.
September 11th 2009
Refused-Classification.com
