Page 2769 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 21 November 1989
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
they see in the media. I would submit, Mr Speaker, that it follows very clearly that the X-rated video impact on such minds must be at least as great for those that see them.
The third most important reason, in many ways, Mr Speaker, for our opposition to this legislation is that X-rated videos degrade women. I think Mr Stefaniak has already quoted from the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association press release which makes clear their views on this matter. It speaks very eloquently and I am sorry that the Minister was not present at the time when that was read out. I am sure that a copy can be made available to him.
Mr Speaker, I think that the Chief Minister and her colleagues are very seriously out of step in this legislation. I think that the sorts of organisations that Mr Kaine quoted earlier, indicating the number of women's groups that oppose X-rated videos, indicate very clearly that the women's movement, as a whole, does not support this kind of industry. Mr Stefaniak also quoted the poll results in the ACT which showed that only one in four women were prepared to support this kind of industry. I am very surprised, as I think my colleague said before, that this Government, headed by a woman, should be promoting this kind of legislation.
Particularly galling, I suppose, is the fact that the ACT had a commitment made on its behalf by the Federal Attorney-General last year in June that it would take part in the common decision made across Australia to ban X-rated videos. We have now found, of course, that this banning is not occurring in the ACT and, as a result, the ACT is effectively undercutting the efforts of the States to prevent X-rated material from circulating in those States. That is a matter of some regret. This is not purely a local issue; it is a national issue in that respect.
As Dr Kinloch indicated, we are not talking about censorship. We all agree that there must be censorship.
Ms Follett: No, we do not.
MR HUMPHRIES: Well, I would hope, Chief Minister, that you would support the banning and the censorship of pornography that included bestiality or child pornography.
Ms Follett: It is illegal.
MR HUMPHRIES: Well, indeed. We are not talking about whether we censor; we are talking about where we censor and to what extent we censor. That is the question. Mr Moore and Ms Follett both said that they thought there was no question that by passing such legislation as this we would be legitimising the industry. I cannot understand the naivety of that view.
Mr Berry: We are talking about the tax and regulation of the industry.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .