The Juice Media

Australien Coat of Harms as created by The Juice Media

The Australien Coat of Harms was created as the backdrop to the fictitious Department of Genuine Satire for the Honest Government Adverts. There are a number of notable differences between the fictitious Coat of Harms and the Commonwealth Coat of Arms that it lampoons including:

• A stylised alien head replacing the Commonwealth star
• The heads of the emu and kangaroo have been replaced with surveillance cameras
• The bar under the star has been replaced with a buffering bar
• The 6 state emblems on the shield have been replaced with a pirate ship
• The "Australia" wording under the shield has been replaced with "Not the Real Logo"

In September 2017 TJM received an e-mail from the Australian National Symbols Officer requesting that the use of the satirical logo no longer be used as they had received complaints from the members of the public about the logo.[5] 5 days later a Bill was proposed to Australian parliament to amend the Criminal Code Act 1995.

The summary for the Bill was stated as:

Amends the Criminal Code Act 1995 to: introduce new offences for a person recklessly or intentionally representing themselves to be, or to be acting on behalf of, or with the authority of, a Commonwealth entity or service; and introduce a new injunction power to allow authorised persons to seek injunctive relief to prevent a person from engaging in conduct in contravention of the new offences.[6]

The case for the amendments to the Bill was presented in the Senate by the Attorney-General Hon. George Brandis QC[7] There were a number of public submissions to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee overseeing the proposed amendments.[8] Among the submissions were pieces from Australian Lawyers for Human Rights and Electronic Frontiers Australia, both of which expressed concerns about the Bill regarding freedom of speech, the lack of safeguards, and ambiguous wording in the Bill which could result in legal action being taken against critics and satirists.[9][10][11]

It is unfortunate that the Australian government cannot distinguish between impersonation and satire. But it is especially worrying because the government has proposed legislation that would impose jail terms for impersonation of a government agency. Some laws against impersonating government officials can be appropriate (Australia, like the U.S., is seeing telephone scams from fraudsters claiming to be tax officials). But the proposed legislation in Australia lacks sufficient safeguards. Moreover, the recent letter to Juice Media shows that the government may lack the judgment needed to apply the law fairly.[12]

This was a sentiment echoed by Adam Bandt MP in a speech to parliament in which he addressed the topics of freedom of speech and the rights to "mercilessly troll government".[7] Senator Nick McKim is on record as saying:

"Where does this leave satire in Australia? Does it mean that figures such as Shaun Micallef, The Juice Media and The Chaser team, as well as upcoming comedians, will have to think twice before they crack jokes lest they find themselves on the stand or in the slammer? As the government's then Attorney-General put it, 'The test of what genuine satire is will be, as I said, up to the courts.' Australian common law has never previously had to deal with defining genuine satire, meaning that satirists will be in the dark as to the potential limits of their jokes until a body of common law has been established."[13]

If successfully passed those found to be in breach of the new amendment can face 2–5 years imprisonment[14]

On 21 June 2018, the Criminal Code Amendment (Impersonating a Commonwealth Body) Bill 2017 was passed by both Houses and moved into law.[15][16]

• 
  Official coat of arms of the Commonwealth of Australia
• 
  Australien logo as used in Honest Government Adverts.

On 24 January 2017 TJM released a parody of a well known anti-piracy ad, colloquially dubbed "You Wouldn't Steal a Car", called Australia Day (Piracy parody).[17] The video compared the celebration of Australia Day (26 Jan), the national day of Australia, to a number of infamous events in history. The events depicted include the "Final Solution" by Nazi Germany, dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and 11 Sep attacks on the Twin Towers.[18]

The video was released as part of the Change the Date campaign (#changethedate) which calls for changing the date of Australia Day by Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and wider community groups.

Many believe celebrating on January 26 is insensitive as the arrival of the First Fleet marked the beginning of a brutal history which saw mass killings of Indigenous Australians.[19]

This video incited a great deal of debate, especially in social media, with a lot of negative sentiments expressed especially at the comparison of 26 Jan to other historical dates:

"I understand the sentiment, but these are really poor examples. Not one of these events resulted in the creation of a sustainable society/civilisation," Shaun Fielding said.[19]

The National Australia Day Council said in response:

"Though 26 January marks this specific event, today Australia Day celebrations reflect contemporary Australia: our diverse society and landscape, our remarkable achievements and our bright future. It also is an opportunity to reflect on our nation's history, and to consider how we can make Australia an even better place in future," [19]

In 2017 the Australia Day celebrations in Fremantle, Western Australia were cancelled and replaced with alternative celebrations 2 days later on 28 January. This was seen as a litmus test for the #changethedate movement.[20]