In New Zealand parents face a three month custodial sentence or a
NZ$10,000 (€5,000) fine if discovered buying Grand Theft Auto for their children.
According to a report in the New Zealand Herald, parents face severe
penalties if they are found buying copies of Grand Theft Auto 4 for their kids.
The matter has come to light as retailers were faced with a dilemma
as to whether to sell the game to parents with young children.
When contacting the Office of Film and Literature Classification,
the advice they're given is:
If it's perfectly obvious the parent is buying the game for the child,
don't sell it to the parent.
Under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 in
New Zealand the game was rated as R18 (restricted to persons 18
years of age and over) despite Rockstar submitting a self-censored
version to the authorities in order to avoid an outright ban.
OFLC Chief Censor Bill Hastings said:
When the violence does happen in Grand Theft Auto, it is of a quality that
makes it R18 - the degree of it, the intensity of it, the realism of it.
He added:
Sexual matters are not a dominant theme of the game although their
presence indicates the game is adult in nature.
Although the law has been in place since 1994 it has never been enforced
against parents. Manhunt, Postal, Postal 2 and Reservoir Dogs are currently
banned, meaning it's not only illegal to sell, but illegal to own, possess or
import the game in New Zealand.
Politician Gordon Copeland had already called for a ban:
Sadly New Zealand has become a violent society... A recent study has indicated that,
on a per capita basis, New Zealand is now twice as violent as the USA.
