Moving to Australia? Split topic

[Big T]

I'm definitely moving to Australia after I finish my degree.

Why? I thought that Australia was becoming increasingly conservative (and US-servicing) recently.

Please, please, correct me if I am wrong Aussies.

I've mostly given up on Humanity by now.

Yes Fireblade. Wait, I mean Alec. Or is this kind of announcement poplular nowadays?

 

[Montez]

Australia has banned GTA:SA because they refuse to allow games to be sold that are intended for kids over 15, and I vaguely recall hearing about a lot of other stuff that would make American relgious zealots and 'neo-conservatives' drool. I don't think it's really the place to go to escape the crap going on in the USA.

 

[Volkov]

Australia has banned GTA:SA because they refuse to allow games to be sold that are intended for kids over 15, and I vaguely recall hearing about a lot of other stuff that would make American relgious zealots and 'neo-conservatives' drool. I don't think it's really the place to go to escape the crap going on in the USA.

Why would religious zealots like it here? Even our religious private schools (like the Christian one I went to) don't care about religion. We just had to attend church twice a year, and had Religious Education classes for a few years, and half of those were on Islam, Buddhism, and Greek mythology. We're really not a very religious country. We do have some nice churches though.

The GTA:SA thing is a bit confusing as well. Although it was technically banned, it was banned simply because the OFLC deemed the content too much for an MA15+ rating (must be over 15 or with a parent or guardian). Since we don't currently have an R18+ (must be over 18) rating for games, it can't be released. Hopefully it'll change soon, since this one has become kind of a big deal, and all they have to do is create an R rating for games.

 

[ferdinand]

Australian politics is going to the dogs. Howard with the Senate, people trying to remove women from the parties, Labor falling apart.... It's awful. Give 15 years, and we'll be a one party-wonder.

Australia has banned GTA:SA because they refuse to allow games to be sold that are intended for kids over 15, and I vaguely recall hearing about a lot of other stuff that would make American relgious zealots and 'neo-conservatives' drool. I don't think it's really the place to go to escape the crap going on in the USA.

You're right mate... odd how the ultra-conservative Christian party gets a seat in the senate, and the Greens get passed over...

*sigh* Hate liberals, hate labor, hate all the freaking parties. What Australia needs is a party who's primary concern isn't blowing wind up their own arses and who does what needs to be done. Times are changing, and for the worse, and the government is sitting there, saying "be alert, not alarmed" "Australia is a very minor terrorist target" and "the drought is breaking".

We need to a little bit scared, we've pissed off the people with the bombs and we are running out of WATER, and yet we are told it's not a problem, we can sit back, wash down our concrete paths and live the Australian dream. If this keeps up We. Are. ROOTED.
*sigh....*

 

[Zaij]

Australian politics is going to the dogs. Howard with the Senate, people trying to remove women from the parties, Labor falling apart.... It's awful. Give 15 years, and we'll be a one party-wonder.

What? Trying to remove women from the parties? I'm sorry, last time I checked they were only removing Affirmitive Action and "Here, have a female-only role in the party which leads no where" jobs.

You're right mate... odd how the ultra-conservative Christian party gets a seat in the senate, and the Greens get passed over...

It's to do with the type of voting used. The Greens got more vote first-party-preffered votes than the Nationals aswell, but the Nationals got 11 seats (if I remember correctly).

*sigh* Hate liberals, hate labor, hate all the freaking parties. What Australia needs is a party who's primary concern isn't blowing wind up their own arses and who does what needs to be done. Times are changing, and for the worse, and the government is sitting there, saying "be alert, not alarmed" "Australia is a very minor terrorist target" and "the drought is breaking".

I rather this than the media's fear-mongering.

 

[Montez]

Why would religious zealots like it here?

I don't mean that Australia is a haven for religion, as I don't really know that much about the country; just that over the years I've heard of a few things going on there that American conservatives (which over here are religious zealots, mainly) would love to have happen here. It could be media exaggeration, but I've just gotten the feeling that your country is in some ways even more conservative than ours.

 

[ferdinand]

What? Trying to remove women from the parties? I'm sorry, last time I checked they were only removing Affirmitive Action and "Here, have a female-only role in the party which leads no where" jobs.

Read today's age (4/8/05) people are trying to abolish Menzies rule of compulsory gender equality in the Liberal party. Given world history and (still) current trends, which people are going to be cut, men or women?

A note on the drought: Whad do you think will get us out of this drought. Not an above average winter rainfall. Ohhhh Nooooo. I think 6 or 7 YEARS of wet wet winters, springs, autumns AND summers. 15 years ago at Kinglake - an hour out of Melbourne (for example) - before the drought, you could dig 30 cm down through soft wet clay and water would fill the bottom of the hole, just like at the beach. Now, there is and inch and a half a topsoil, then 2 feet of hard clay before it gets even damp.

The ground water is GONE. The aquifiers are steadily being emptied, our last reliable source of water, to fuel the water wasting habits of surburbia, among other things. DON'T water your garden in the middle of the day. DON'T wash down your driveway (ever heard of a broom?). DON'T have a ten minute shower.

I know that the cities use much less water than agriculture, but just these little changes can save water, and it's a damn site cheaper and easier than replacing your irrigation set up over 3000 acers. Hopefully someone with a bit more money and influence is doing something about inefficient farming techniques.

Come'on. Do what you can. Please.

 

[Zaij]

We've been having such serious droughts because we haven't been putting as much money back into water infrastructure as most other countries.

The compulsory gender equality in the LP is bullshit anyway. Do you actually think that 50% of their members of parliament are women? About as far as the menzies rule went was to make it that there was atleast one male and one female vice president in every branch.

 

[ferdinand]

That and we've not been getting as much rain as we need for the past 12-13 years.

Of course 50% of Liberal MPs aren't female. Assuming that 50% of all Liberal MPs is in the same vein as demanding that X number of seats should be for women only - completely against what our system of government is about. Not that what it is about has anything to do with it these days.

All I'm against is abolishing gender equality where it is actually feasible. It works as it is, it's fair and its been going for more than 60 years. Getting rid of it is a step back.

 

[Zaij]

Hah! Julia Gillard was busy putting in a 35% compulsory preselection for women not that long ago in the ALP as part of their affirmitive actions rules. Getting rid of the Liberal Parties affirmitive action rules is just common sense.

There should be no distinction between men and women (apart from in terms of biology). Gender equality is here. The recent generations (<30 years) largely believe that men and women are equal. It's just all the old 50 year old fuckers that won't shut their mouths and keep on arguing about the supposed lack of sexual equality.

 

[Murdoch]

Australia has banned GTA:SA because they refuse to allow games to be sold that are intended for kids over 15, and I vaguely recall hearing about a lot of other stuff that would make American relgious zealots and 'neo-conservatives' drool. I don't think it's really the place to go to escape the crap going on in the USA.

You mean

they refuse to allow games to be sold that are intended for kids under 15

right?

And I don't necessarily disagree with this, if in fact that's what you meant. Keeping such violent and anti-social material from kids under 15 is not such a bad idea imo. I also don't see it as unreasonable to ban the game completely due to the way it surrepitously markets to kids under 15, which by industry standard and censorship laws it isn't supposed to do. If you cross that line of marketing you pay the price.

But anyways, seeing as how I am old enough to do everything including renting cars, I don't really care about GTA that much. My comment was more from an economic point of view. Australia has a balanced budget, is a net exporter, and has a uch more sound fiscal and trade policy than the US. Not to mention that on many of the issues that I think matter is fairly progressive. And I'm just sick of the bullshit politics here. Shrubs and his cronies make the Clinton years look like fucking Camelot in comparison; better to get out while I still can.

 

[ferdinand]

I don't think that we should be getting rid of it just yet. It is a bit idiotic, but it does serve as a good reminder for your 50+ year olds in parliment. Maybe I phrased myself incorrectly at the start.

Look at it this way. It can't do any harm forcing gender equality at this level and in this way. What it can do, however, is keep a good number of women involved in *reletively* important position and in the loop, until the those in parliment at the moment have gone, and there is a generation of less conservative and moronic people there instead.

There is still bias, and always will be, whether that is by default or by design, and I'll consider it irrelevant when there is a roughly appoximate NATURAL balance between the sexes in parliment, which may be 20, 50, or even 200 years down the track. Natural meaning they are who are elected by the people. Whether you agree is up to you.

Until sometime approaching that time, it seems to me to be a good idea to keep Menzie's rule going.

 

[Montez]

You mean

they refuse to allow games to be sold that are intended for kids under 15

right?

And I don't necessarily disagree with this, if in fact that's what you meant. Keeping such violent and anti-social material from kids under 15 is not such a bad idea imo. I also don't see it as unreasonable to ban the game completely due to the way it surrepitously markets to kids under 15, which by industry standard and censorship laws it isn't supposed to do. If you cross that line of marketing you pay the price.

They don't allow games to be sold that are rated higher than 15+, meaning that not even adults can buy mature games. If it's not suitable for a 15 year old then it's not allowed to be sold to anyone. Anyway, I understand where you're coming from, just wanted to point out that Australia has it's problems as well even if they aren't Bush-sized problems.

 

[Bradylama]

Ah, crucial news update. Soooooo GTA SA has been totally banned here due to the Hot Coffee mod. The wonderful board of classification thinga-ma-jig doesn't want to introduce an R18+ rating for video games because video games are only for kids. Seriously, that's their reason. Doesn't seem like Rockstar will be bothering with an edited version here, unlike GTA III. See, that gem got banned about two weeks after launch because WHOOPS, the game lets you have sex! Didn't notice that! WHOA, this is made by SATAN. The Mature (MA15+) rating doesn't cover cars rocking, you see. Running over goons and all that is a-ok *THUMBS UP* but picking up what sort of looks like a women in a car and then watching the car rock (raaawk)? Ban it. Along comes a version where you can't pick up the hookers to gain 120% health. Oh dear, oh my.

But now it's time for excitement! The very new toy, known as Tamagotchi's (they are very new you probably haven't heard of them because they are new) is DESTROYING CHILDREN across Australia. It's destroying them good. Why? IS IT SLASHING CHILDREN WITH AN IN-BUILT KNIFE? No. It has a slot machine mini game. Some wanker really wants them banned.

A slot machine mini game. Of course, it's not the classifications board at fault here for being a bunch of old shits that wouldn't know how to turn on a Game Boy to save themselves. No no. Don't add the little 'contains gambling' WARNING that some video games have had to suffer. This stuff is KILLING CHILDREN. It's MURDER. Ban them! The best part is that he'll probably succeed in his SAFE 4 KIDZ quest.

But no, really, you should try and escape your problems by moving to another country.

(I'd like to see it happen)

 

[Rev. Layle]

Can't Austrialians just import the game from an online retailer if they really want it?

 

[welsh]

Australia is becoming more religious conservative- that sucks.

I am noticing in the US that girls are wearing skimpier (sluttier) summer clothes- which I think is a fashion backlash against conservatives.

I had always thought Austrialia to be a bit more anarchical than the US. To go conservative, bites. Maybe it has to do with all the immigrants you folks have been getting?

 

[Zaij]

It's not going religious conservative.

Immigrants we're getting? Like the people we're locking up in detention centres?

 

[quietfanatic]

I thought that Australia was becoming increasingly conservative (and US-servicing) recently.

Please, please, correct me if I am wrong Aussies.

Australia is not becoming more religiously conservative, but it is becoming more conservative in other areas, most notably in economic policy with its planned industrial relations (IR) reforms. People are getting greedy and think that the Liberals will give them a better standard of living, when in reality they are more concerned with helping the very rich as opposed to the average worker or member of the middle class.

As the Federal Government now has control of the senate, the Liberal Party (conservatives) is now able to launch a full scale assault on unions and education. As well as trying to abolish unfair dismissal laws, independent IR arbitration groups and force people on to individual contracts with their employers, they will ensure that public education and universities will still be severely starved for funds. These proposed policies are extreme, unfair and unnecessary, but only a revolt amongst the Nationals (country party) will stop these measures from coming in.

Most of the Federal Labor Party politicians are boring retards. Julia Gillard is one of the more clever ministers actually, but I still think sexism might be a hindrance to a leadership push. Rudd has no charisma but also has some understanding of reality. I wonder if Carr would be interested in coming back to politics? Another evil bastard, but one who is not totally stupid. Beezley is a master of shooting himself in the foot, so I can't see how he can win the next election.

Family First will not necessarily be a Liberal Party stooge, although it is true that in the few religiously influenced debates they are likely to be very conservative. They might even oppose the IR reforms.

The Australian political scene is very depressing, as the government wants us to become more like America. One funny thing is how the government manages to crawl up the collective arses of both America and China simultaneously.

South Australian No Pokies MP Nick Xenophon said it was outrageous that a toy marketed at children aged four and over featured a pokies-style game.

That's highly amusing in a way. During the Pokemon craze at my school I mocked my friends for wasting so much time and money on such a simple game (after infecting them with Warhammer but meh). I was concerned by the fact that it had a pokies style minigame which I think you needed to play to 'catch them all'. It appeared to be a precursor to hard-core gambling but I didn't think it was a big enough deal to complain about. That game is bad and addictive enough already. But I do wonder why no one else seems to have noticed the pokies in Pokemon when it was so huge.

 

[Bradylama]

Because Pokies were a minor part of pokemon's gameplay? With a Tamagotchi, you've got like, what, two buttons?

Media crusades are almost always examples of political opportunism. In the States, for instance, most of our anti-game rhetoric comes from Democrats trying to appeal to the center. When it comes to a video game, where you have to actually be engaged in the product to find objectionable material, people are only going to tirade against something that's brought to their attention. Thus why people kept talking about Doom a decade after its release.