Page 3255 - Week 12 - Thursday, 19 November 1992
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Ministers considered the issue at their meeting on 2 July 1992, but resolved to seek further advice from heads of government before making a recommendation. There was, however, general agreement among Ministers at that time that the permanent exemption for "pornographic material" in Schedule 1 of the Mutual Recognition Bill is not a legal term and would not necessarily have the effect of exempting all State or Territory censorship laws. There is now clear support among States, Territories and the Commonwealth for an addition to Schedule 2 - Permanent Exemptions: Laws Relating to Goods of the Bill to create an exemption from mutual recognition for all State and Territory censorship laws. This proposed amendment will more clearly give effect to the original intention of heads of government that mutual recognition should not become the vehicle for free trade across States and Territories in pornographic material.
As a result of this amendment, Madam Speaker, the whole area of classification and censorship for films and publications will remain unaffected by mutual recognition. This amendment seeks to preserve the status quo by retaining the capacity of States and Territories to legislate in the censorship area. It does not preclude agreement further down the track for reform in this area, and the development of more uniform censorship procedures among the States and Territories if that is desired by jurisdictions. I commend that amendment to the Assembly.
Amendment agreed to.
Bill, as a whole, as amended, agreed to.
Bill, as amended, agreed to.
CONSERVATION, HERITAGE AND ENVIRONMENT -
STANDING COMMITTEE
Report on the Environmental and Heritage Aspects of Rural Leases -
Government Response
Debate resumed from 15 October 1992, on motion by Mr Wood:
That the Assembly takes note of the paper.
MR DE DOMENICO (11.27): Madam Speaker, on behalf of Mr Humphries, the Liberal Party's spokesman on rural affairs and a member of the original Standing Committee on Conservation, Heritage and Environment which conducted the inquiry into rural leases in the last Assembly, I am pleased to respond to the Government's response to this report. I am delighted to see that a large number of the recommendations made in the committee's report have been accepted by the Government. Of the 38 recommendations in the report, the Government agreed with 24, agreed conditionally to one, agreed in part to one, agreed in principle to three, and did not agree with nine. It is worth noting that the Government has been very reasonable in adopting so many of the recommendations made by the committee.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .