Page 2784 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 21 November 1989
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"It will develop an overview of women's status in the ACT and identify their needs and aspirations".
The media release goes on, but that is as much of it as I will quote this evening. It is unfortunate that this council was not in place before the introduction of this particular Bill, as I am positive all the advice from all those women on the council to the Chief Minister would have been not to put forward such a piece of legislation.
All those women representing community groups of women - remember that 50 per cent of people in this community are women - should realise that the X-rated video industry denigrates women to such an extent that it is absolutely disgusting. We now see this Government bringing forward legislation to tax the industry, forgetting about the views of women. I believe the only woman speaking in this Assembly in this particular debate has been the Chief Minister, and she, in fact, is supporting such denigration of women.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I recently received a letter - many of us, I am sure, have received many letters - signed by Dawn Casley-Smith and I would just like to quote from a particular paragraph in that letter. It reads:
On 9 March this year, Robbie Swan, Public Relations Officer for the pornographers, conceded in an interview on Radio Station 2CN that 20 to 30 per cent of X-rated videos were degrading women. We would put this figure closer to 70 to 80 per cent. Any normal business that degraded 30 per cent of women through its advertising or other behaviour would be closed down as a result of pressure from women's organisations.
It is amazing that this particular industry has not closed down from that pressure.
This Government, headed by a woman, forgets about degrading of women and chooses to forget about any social costs and says, "Money - dollars - we need them at any cost". I do not believe that that is the right way to be looking at introducing such a piece of legislation. We have heard tonight that there are many other ways in which this amount of money could have been collected and I am greatly disappointed that, in fact, women have to continue to receive such denigration.
MR WHALAN (Minister for Industry, Employment and Education) (10.02): Mr Speaker, in view of recent interjections while I was interjecting with you, I assume that I will get a fair hearing.
MR SPEAKER: Always, Minister.
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