Page 3683 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 9 December 1992
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MR HUMPHRIES: That is another alternative. Madam Speaker, we need to be looking at an enhancement of public safety and the public amenity of public places. This is what this Bill does. It gives people the chance to move about in those places designated for that purpose, in safety and security. I think that it is important to indicate to young people that these activities really are not appropriate in these places. I think children are certainly very welcome, for example, in bus interchanges; but I do not believe that we should have children playing in bus interchanges, and that is what they are doing at present.
There is a penalty of $40 imposed in this Bill. I would hope never to see penalties actually being imposed on young people. Rather, I see this as a way in which the police and others can successfully encourage young people not to use certain public places for that kind of activity. I do not think we need to be strongarmed or heavy-handed about this. I believe that this measure can be subtly but firmly applied to provide a better use of our public amenities. I commend the Bill to the house.
Debate (on motion by Mr Connolly) adjourned.
PUBLICATIONS CONTROL (AMENDMENT) BILL 1992
Debate resumed from 14 October 1992, on motion by Mr Stevenson:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
MR LAMONT (11.02): Madam Speaker, when this matter was last before the Assembly - it has been before the Assembly every year for the last four years, and no doubt will be next year - a number of issues were raised and discussed and I wish to address but two of those this morning.
First of all, I refer to child pornography. We have seen a flood of petitions, interstate petitions, directed to this Assembly, asking this Assembly to ban the possession and/or publication of child pornography. It is interesting, Madam Speaker, that we have interstate petitioners asking the ACT to do that, for this is the only legislature in Australia that has done so. In the ACT it is illegal to possess child pornography. That is simply not the case in other jurisdictions. Either the law is silent on the matter or it does not make it illegal to possess child pornography. So, let us get that on the public record. Let us hope that those members of the media who pay very close attention to the activities of this Assembly make that abundantly clear to the people of Canberra - that it is the decision of the legislature in the ACT to make it illegal to possess child pornography.
Let us go one step further. In the ACT it is illegal to transmit child pornography. It is quite clearly an offence punishable by fairly severe penalties. The distribution of child pornography is also illegal in the Australian Capital Territory, with similar penalties. The publication of child pornography, equally as reprehensible as the other three issues that I have just addressed, is also illegal in the ACT. So, let us make it quite clear to people who will take notice of this debate that in relation to child pornography the ACT leads the way in Australia as far as its prohibition is concerned.
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