The ritual destruction of over 230,000 pirated DVDs and related equipment and burners was witnessed by Fair Trading Minister, Virginia Judge, and the Commonwealth Minister for Home Affairs, Bob Debus, as a way of drawing attention to the problem. Mr Debus said the illegal DVDs had been seized by State and Federal Police, and were crushed under supervision. “While many people view this as a less serious crime, police intelligence shows that criminals use movie piracy to fund a range of criminal activity like drug trafficking and money laundering,” Mr Debus said.
Seized DVDs crushed by police
“Those issues are worth considering by any member of the public who thinks purchasing counterfeit DVDs is a victimless crime.” He said the purchases also resulted in the loss of around $1.7 billion of revenue each year due to copyright infringements. “This is a crime that’s on the increase and if we work together to take appropriate action its attractiveness will be reduced,” Mr Debus said. Ms Judge congratulated the NSW and Federal Agencies on their efforts, saying if consumers did not buy their DVDs from reputable traders, they could get more than they bargained for. “I don’t want consumers to be burnt by pirated DVDs,” she said. “There are no quality controls, no refunds and you could wreck expensive home entertainment systems.” Mr Debus said maintaining a strong Intellectual Property enforcement system was required under international treaties and was crucial for future trade and investment in the Australian economy. “The AFP hosts a quarterly Intellectual Property Enforcement Consultative Group meeting which brings together a range of Commonwealth Agencies and industry groups to discuss emerging issues and current investigations,” he said. “The Government would like to encourage all Police jurisdictions to attend this forum and it’s an issue I raised at this week’s Police Minister’s meeting in Sydney.” From October 2007 to October 2008, the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft helped police seize 967,500 pirated DVDs and 741 burners capable of producing over 18 million copies a year.
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