RESEARCH ORGY!

[highlyeccentric]

This is what I call a Good Weekend: mostly spent lying around, listening to Kylee's music, and reading a SRS Book about porn. (Nadine Schlossen's In Defence of Pornography, for reference). It was a fascinating read in many respects, although I did feel rather odd reading it on a train to Blacktown this morning.

After I'd read a rather hilarious chapter on Things Seized By Canadian Customs Under Laws Based On MacKinnon and Dworkin's Model Anti-Pornography Law (the list included Dworkin's own books), it occurred to me to wonder

a) Do Australian customs check things being mailed into Australia? People have been mailing me books for years and I don't know of anything that's been opened.

b) What can be seized by Australian customs? Are there restrictions on things you can buy on the internet?

SO WE WENT ON A RESEARCH ORGY. Here is A list of things which are either prohibited from import into Australia, or restricted (you need permission from a given Federal Minister or the Classifications Board). The list includes novelty erasers, money boxes, electronic flyswats, and

Pornography and other objectionable material (restricted import): Includes computer games, computer generated images, films, interactive games and publications that describe, depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime cruelty, violence, terrorist acts or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults.

Underlines mine. SO MUCH POTENTIAL FAIL.

Comments

[fahye]

The only thing I've had removed from a parcel coming into Aus is a teabag :) They offered to incinerate it and then send it to me for $45. I declined.

[highlyeccentric]

heeee. I remember that teabag! or the Incident of the Teabag, rather.