Report suggests Australia should ease movie censorship laws
A government-commissioned report has suggested that Australia should remove its censorship laws on legal sex fetishes and particular acts of violence in movies.
Movie and video game classification boards have failed to modernise since the mid-1990s, with this new report from 2020, but only recently published by the government, recommending a change to current censorship laws.
Having long been strict with their censorship laws, banning movies that include strong sex and violence, a range of well-known films have never been legally distributed in the country, including 1972’s Pink Flamingos and 2004’s Mysterious Skin.
The report, written by Neville Stevens, states: “For X 18+ films, I recommend that the absolute prohibitions on fetishes, which are not illegal, and violence (where it is unrelated to sex) should be removed”.
Later, the report also adds: “Departmental research into attitudes towards refused classification content shows that the community is unconcerned about depictions of most fetishes, as long as there is consent, and no serious harm is inflicted…Similarly, depictions of violence that are not directly linked to sexual activity do not appear to be of particular concern”.
Take a look at the trailer for the John Waters movie Pink Flamingos below, which has never been released uncut in Australia.
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