The Australian Bite
Porn at the corner store?
2 July 2009
Listen and download: MP3
In Australia, a range of so-called “adult” magazines are commonly displayed in newsagencies, corner shops and petrol stations. But many people argue that they shouldn’t be. This week on the Bite, a discussion of some of the issues around magazine classification and availability in Australia. We also hear about a new documentary called “Contact” which tells the remarkable story of first contact between white patrol officers and a group of aboriginal people in the Western Australian desert in 1964.
The regulation of “adult” magazines
According to Australian law, magazines that contain material of an adult, or sexual nature, have to be classified, or put into categories, before they can be sold, distributed or advertised in Australia. That job is done by the Classification Board in Sydney, and the categories include Unrestricted, Category One restricted, and Category Two restricted – depending upon criteria like how explicit they are, or if they portray violence. But some people are concerned that the classification system isn’t working. Gary Bartholomew talks to independent media commentator Lee Burton about the regulations covering the sale of explicit magazines in Australia, and what the Australian public thinks about the issue.
You can read more about the classification of magazines in Australia here at the Australian Government’s Attorney General’s Department website.
Gripping story of a first encounter
Forty five years ago, Native Welfare Officers were patrolling the Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia looking to clear the area of people ahead of planned rocket launches from the Woomera rocket range in outback South Australia. It was 1964, and what they found out in the great desert expanse was a group of Aboriginal women and children, of the Martu people, still living a completely traditional lifestyle. They had never before seen a white man. This first contact was recorded on film by one of the patrol officers – and the story is told in a new documentary called Contact, which recently premiered at the Sydney Film Festival. Fran Kelly spoke with two Martu women – Yuwali who was 17 years old at the time of contact and Thelma Judson who was just eight; as well as filmmaker Martin Butler and translator Peter Johnson.
“Contact” was co-winner of this year’s Australian Documentary Prize at the Sydney Film Festival. The film was based on a book called “Cleared Out” by Sue Davenport, Peter Johnson and Yuwali, and was published by Aboriginal Studies Press. You can read a review of the book at the National Library of Australia website here.
You can read an interview with Yuwali and Thelma about their visit to Sydney for the Sydney Film Festival here
Where is the Great Sandy Desert?
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Music (not in podcast)
The Wilson Pickers are a collection of five singer/songwriters from Queensland and Victoria, who combine bluegrass elements, with a taste of traditional country and blues. Their debut album is called “Land of the Powerful Owl” – and in case you’re wondering, the Powerful Owl is the largest owl in Australia, and is found in eastern and south eastern Australia.
Artist: The Wilson Pickers
Track: Can’t Steal My Love
Album: Land of the Powerful Owl (2009)
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