Page 3977 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 25 August 2010
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preying on the consequences of that objectification for commercial profit. Media and television regulations are largely the responsibility of the commonwealth. It is our responsibility as members of this place, as representatives of the Canberra community, to voice our concerns and drive public debates so that, hopefully, legislative reform to protect children takes place.
I have put a number of views here today about why it is incredibly important and why I have moved this motion today. And there are a number of excellent, I believe, programs in the ACT such as Mental Illness Education ACT’s body image, body scrimmage initiative that I was pleased to be part of some years ago. This is why today I have brought this motion to the Assembly. I commend this motion to the Assembly.
MS BURCH (Brindabella—Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services, Minister for Children and Young People, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Women) (9.13): I thank Ms Hunter for bringing this motion to the Assembly. I will be brief on this. There is an amendment that has been circulated in my name. Let me start by saying, as Minister for Children and Young People, that the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people in the ACT is of great importance to me.
As Ms Hunter has stated, there has been a lot of work and research done on matters raised in the motion, and I think the paper put out by the Australia Institute on this subject summarises the core issues. It states:
Children’s general sexual and emotional development is affected by exposure to advertising and marketing that is saturated with sexual images and themes … and all aspects of the development may be affected. Sexual representations of adults in advertising and marketing often occur together with the treatment of women as objects, the understanding of sex as either a commodity or an instrument, and the linkage of sex with violence. The messages children receive about desirable behaviour and values thus incorporate ethical effects and go well beyond simply how to dress.
As it stands, advertising and the electronic media are required to comply with commonwealth legislation and national codes of conduct. National practice guides and protocols already exist for managing the depiction of children in advertising and the arts, following action taken in the ACT in 2008 by the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General on censorship. We in the ACT have a Human Rights Act and the Children and Young People Act which outline the protection and rights of children.
The messages we send to children and young people through advertising and television about what is an appropriate way to behave stay with them and impact on the way they want to be. And the images of children and young people behaving in a sexualised or objectifying way send the wrong message and, along with comments from peers, can impact on their self-esteem and healthy developments.
This government is committed to the health and wellbeing of young people, and this motion and my amendment aim to promote awareness in the community about how advertising depicts children and young people and the impact this has, which in turn
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