With the enactment of the Criminal Code Amendment (Suicide Related Material Offences Bill 2005), the website of Exit International has – at the instigation of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society of New Zealand - become the property and responsibility of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society of New Zealand.
If you are accessing this site from outside Australia you are breaking NO law. Warning – If you are accessing this site from within Australia you may be in breach of the Australian Criminal Code.
In 2005 the Australian Government passed the most far-reaching Internet censorship laws in history. This law makes it a crime to:
| “use a carriage service [telephone, fax, email, Internet – not mail service]: to access material; cause material to be transmitted to the person; transmit material; make material available; publish or otherwise distribute material; AND the material directly or indirectly counsels or incites committing or attempting to commit suicide; AND the person intends to use the material to counsel or incite, committing or attempting to commit suicide; or intends that the material be used by another person to counsel or incite committing or attempting to commit suicide”. |
This law is the Australian Government’s attempt to (a) drive Dr Philip Nitschke out of Australia and (b) close down the very valuable and much sought-after services and activities of Exit International – one of the world’s leading pro voluntary euthanasia organisations
At the current time, Dr Nitschke remains a citizen and resident of Australia. The Exit in Exile website is hosted from New Zealand.
If you object to Internet censorship of this type, send Australia's Members of Parliament an email. The Australian Justice Minister is Chris Ellison and you can email him by clicking here.
