Australia: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox country
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|right|thumb|400x400px|The Australian flag.]]
|native_name              = Australia
[[File:GTAIII-Boxart-Australia.jpg|right|thumb|The Australian box artwork for [[Grand Theft Auto III]].]]
|conventional_long_name  = Commonwealth of Australia
'''Australia''', officially the '''Commonwealth of Australia''', is a country in Oceania. Australia compromises of the main island, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. Australia has maritime borders with [[Indonesia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Papua New Guinea]], [[Solomon Islands]], Timor-Leste and [[Vanuatu]]. Australia gained a further degree of independence from the [[United Kingdom]] on October 9, 1942 with the passing of the Statute Westminster Adoption Act (giving Australia's parliament that ability to act independently from the British government, although this had started from September 3, 1939). Full independence for the Australian government took place on March 3, 1986 with acts going through both the British and Australian parliaments. The British monarch remains Australia's head of state. The capital of Australia is [[:wp:Canberra|Canberra]].
|common_name              = Australia
|image_flag              = Flag of Australia.png
|official_languages      = None{{Ref|official languages|N2}}
|languages_type          = [[National language]]
|languages                = [[wp:English language|English]]<br />([[wp:de facto|de facto]]){{Ref|official languages|N2}}
|capital                  = [[wp:Canberra|Canberra]]
|largest_city            = [[wp:Sydney|Sydney]]
|currency                = [[wp:Australian dollar|Australian dollar]]
}}
'''[[wp:Australia|Australia]]''' is a country in the southern hemisphere, a neighbour to [[New Zealand]].


The country's [[Australian Classification Board|classification board]] provides the age classification of all media in the country, including video game releases such as [[Grand Theft Auto]]. The majority of the GTA series is rated MA15+, however some editions of the games have drawn the RC rating ("Refused Classification"). [[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]] was famously re-rated after the [[Hot Coffee]] debacle, the OFLC changing its original MA15+ rating to RC. The re-release of the game saw it obtain the the MA15+ rating again, after the Hot Coffee material was edited out. [[Rockstar]] produced a different version of [[Grand Theft Auto IV]] for retail in the Australian/New Zealand market to meet Australian OFLC MA15+ guidelines - no blood pools form beneath dead bodies, prostitute 'services' are shown from an obscuring angle (and no options are available), and injury decals are not shown on the protagonist or on NPCs when they are wounded. The [[PC]] version of the game, however, remains uncensored. The international version of GTA IV was eventually submitted for rating in New Zealand by a retailer, and was passed with an 18+ rating, allowing the uncensored version to be sold there.
Video games are rated by the [[Australian Classification Board]], which also provides ratings for other forms of media. Most [[Grand Theft Auto]] games are rated MA15+ although some (such as [[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]]) have received or were reclassified to have an RC ("Refused Classification") rating. GTA San Andreas was, however, reclassified back to an MA15+ after it was re-released. [[Rockstar Games]] have produced different versions of Grand Theft Auto games for Australia and neighbouring New Zealand to removed pools of blood from beneath dead bodies, to blur the use of a [[prostitutes]] services and to remove the appearance of injuries from characters after being attacked. Frequently, however, the [[Personal Computer|PC]] version of these games are not edited.


Media that receive a "Refused Classification" rating are banned from sale in the country; it has historically been particularly easy for games to receive this rating, as there was no 18+ classification for games. As of 2013, however, the R18+ rating has been available for video games. Games which do receive the RC rating must be edited to meet MA15+ standards to obtain an Australian release.
In [[2013]], Australia introduced an R18+ age rating for video games, although initially this restriction was not fully used allowing for a number of video games to have a higher rating (and thus more previously banned content). The new restriction was passed after Governor General [http://www.agd.sa.gov.au/about_us/ministers.php Michael Atkinson] ended his opposition to the rating shortly before retiring having blocked any potential R18+ rating for many years.


Note that the classification board do not decide ratings policy, but merely enforce it - changes to the classification system, such as providing an 18+ rating for games, must be authorised with a unanimous vote from all state attorneys-general. Attorney General [http://www.agd.sa.gov.au/about_us/ministers.php Michael Atkinson] of South Australia was the lone dissenting vote regarding an 18+ category for video games for a very long time.
==Australian characters==
;[[HD Universe]]
*[[Molly (GTA V)|Molly]] (<small>fictional character in [[Last Will and Testament]]</small>)
*[[Tiana]]


==Australia within the Grand Theft Auto games==
==References==
In the [[GTA III Era]] games, references are made to a war between the [[United States]] and Australia. It is first referenced in [[GTA III]] when a caller in [[Chatterbox FM]], [[Colonel James P.]], talks about his experience in the [[Australian-American War]], which [[Lazlow]] claims it did not happen. References appear in later GTA games, usually in [[Ammu-Nation]] commercials and radio advertisements. It can be presumed that Australia lost the war - San Andreas Ammu-Nation promotions mention weapons "from when we whooped Australia's ass".
;[[Grand Theft Auto III]]
*[[Colonel James P.]] talks about his experience in a [[Australian-American War|war]] between Australia and the [[United States of America]], which [[Lazlow Jones|Lazlow]] claims did not happen.


The [[GTA IV Era]] games continues the references to the Australian-American War. A commercial for Babies Overnight adoption service mentions "...an Australian baby, which loves to play war but always loses." On the website "[[Ilovetoblow.org|www.ilovetoblow.org]]", there is also another reference to Australia losing the war.
;[[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]]
*Commercials and radio advertisements for [[Ammu-Nation]] state "from when we whooped Australia's ass" suggesting that the United States won the war.
*[[The Gurning Chimps]] (including [[Maccer]]) were banned from Australia at some point before [[1992]].
 
;[[Grand Theft Auto IV]]
*There are further references to the Australian-American War. A commercial for [[Babiesovernight.com|Babies Overnight]] adoption service mentions "...an Australian baby, which loves to play war but always loses." On the website "[[Ilovetoblow.org|www.ilovetoblow.org]]", there is also another reference to Australia losing the war.
*[[The Angels of Death]] have a chapter in Australia.
 
;[[Grand Theft Auto V]]
*One of the "relatives" of any character searched for on [[yourdeadfamily.com]] fled to Australia after having an affair with one the Queen's maids.
*The Australian dollar, Australia's currency, is one of the possibilites your [[Money|$]]10,000 'investment' to [[iwillsurviveitall.com]] can be shown in.
*In the film "[[Last Will and Testament]]", the main character [[Will Longhorn]] flees to Australia after being accused of murdering a woman who had left him a large sum of money in her will. He 'soon realizes this is a terrible idea as the place is full of savages that annoy everyone' and starts a brief relationship with [[Molly (GTA V)|Molly]] but kills her because her accent annoyed him. He is then arrested and put on trial but manages to escape and 'rows back to civilization'.
 
==Real life references==
*The [[All Saints General Hospital]] in GTA San Andreas is a reference to the [[:wp:All Saints (TV series)|All Saints]] television show from Australia.


[[Category: Countries]]
[[Category: Countries]]
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