Damn! Aussies to be fined for swearing

To a yank, this is a little scary.

Free speech? -- Due process? or Big brother.

I'm getting more libertarian as I get older, and this just strikes me as way overbearing.

Good luck to you.

 

Will they have the list of offensive words and phrases that are banned from public area written in the law? Otherwise how they gonna enforce it?

Does kids screaming and telling their parents "I'm not leaving until you buy me that" is rather unpleasant, but is that considered as offense? Is so, who's gonna get the ticket? The kids? or the parents?

scary...government is getting more power to control our lives. Soon they will install spaycam on our houses and ticket us for our behaviors at home too

 

You mst be joking! Do you seriously think you could just go out in public in the US and spout non-stop swear words and not end up with a fine? Creating a public nuisance, disorderly conduct, child endangerment, I am sure they could get real creative if you were being an a$$hole about it!

 

Apparently you had to be arrested for doing it before. Now it is just a ticket, making it much easier to rack up transgressions in greater numbers. If you are really being a PITA, they probably ought to warn you, and if you keep it up/can't control yourself then haul you off for the crimes mentioned. But, now they can award an instant fine and do a volume business, and making it really expensive and troublesome to fight, just like parking/traffic tickets so it's easier to pay than fight. Major income for the Gov't. And increased interference in borderline cases. Just a license to be a busybody.

 

All of which will give you a day in court to defend yourself.

Can't agree with any instant fine without being able to defend yourself. Phila Parking Authority is almost like that and I met a woman who had hell fighting a ticket for parking in a Handicap zone. PPA tickets are almost impossible to fight (almost instant fines). She was paraplegic with tags for her ramp-equipped van and the issuer simply made a mistake.

 

Hey:

I wonder what will happen with Aussies with Tourette’s Syndrome, will it now be an illegal disorder?

Makes you wonder.

@F34Me? You would still have your day in court and have to be proven in violation, this law makes the Cop, the on the spot Officer, Judge and Jury, a lot of Financial power for something so minor. It is a way to cheap out on an established system, instead of fixing what is broke in the normal legal system. I wonder what the oversight authority will be, something many governments only add after something goes way wrong with it.

@ Aussie Members in Victoria, Good luck with this one, hope it works out for you folks and its what you wanted.

Dub

 

WTF... who said they won't be able to have their day in court?

Let me explain a bit because I think you fellas have something a bit mixed up...

I spent nearly 7 years living in several cities and 3 different states in Australia. There are 2 types of fines that are issued in the country. The first kind is the sort that gets mailed to you. In Aus they have cameras set up which monitor your speed and also make sure you are not running red lights. If you cause an infraction at one of these camera sites, they mail you a fine. You are completely able to fight that fine in a court of law, many do, few win! I mean... they got you on camera dude... just pay the damn fine!

The second type of fine, is exactly the sort of fine you get here in the US when you cause an infraction of the law. The cop, right there in front of you, writes a fine. You are completely able to fight it in court, you are still presumed innocent until proven guilty. No difference at all between the two contries where that is concerned.

I was fined twice while in Aus. The first time was about 5 hours after I landed in Brisbane. I had never been to Australia and did not know all the laws. They had a mandatory seatbelt law which I was not observing. I fought it in court and it was dropped. It cost me nothing, not a penny! All I had to do was show up at the court house at the date and time specified. I showed the judge my time stamped passport and admitted I was not wearing a seatbelt but that I was unaware of the law. I promised to wear my seatbelt at all times in the future and honestly I do now, I feel naked without a seatbelt on!

The second fine was mailed to me, I was doing 97K in an 80K zone. I saw the camera, looked down and realized I was way over, I turned to my wife and said "how long do you reckon it will be before we see that one?". I think it took about 10 days to reach my house. I paid it, $250 or so from memory.

 

I think the difference is a fine verses a real crime. When it is a matter of degree and judgment, a fine makes it too easy to shift the burden to you to go fight it, and it makes it just too tempting to slap someone with a ticket if there is any doubt. If you want cops to leave everyone alone unless they are waaaay out of line, then you ought to require an arrest.

 

So... let me see if I am following you. You think it is a better idea to arrest people for swearing? Fining them is not a harsh enough penalty? Perhaps they ought to be taken to the central business district for public lashings? Or are you suggesting that this type of behavior is acceptable and should be welcomed? Some people have no morals and will swear like a sailor in the wrong place at the wrong time. Should we put up with this just to protect some words in the constitution? Is that really what they had in mind when they guaranteed us free speech? I think not...

 

Well first off, bite me. Second, if it isn't bad enough to remove you from the environment for,then it ought to be allowed. It shouldn't turn into "how many people can I ticket today so I get my promotion."

Gee, and I was just bragging on how sweet we all were.