Page 1259 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 24 April 1990
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Mr Duby: Since when has a shop union steward been an expert on bloody callous behaviour to women?
MR STEFANIAK: I might come to that, Mr Duby, if you listen. It continues:
We agree with the observations made by Dr J. Zubrzycki, Emeritus Professor (Sociology) at the ANU, that pornography functions quite similarly to anti-semitic or racist propaganda -
I do not think Dr Zubrzycki has been a shop steward -
... serves as a tool of anti-female propaganda. The intent of all three is to distort the image of a group or class of people, to deny the fullness of their humanity and to depict them as objects for exploitation.
Most of our Members are women. This is union business. We ask that urgent action be taken to ensure that "X"-rated videos and their "R" equivalents be made prohibited imports and be placed in the refused category. The Labor Council of New South Wales has expressed its support for this action.
The argument that these videos have been now available for some four years and that a ban will create a black market will not wash. This argument is being advanced by those who refused to accept the recommendation of the Senate Select Committee four years ago requesting the Federal Government to place a moratorium on the sale and hire of these videos. It should also be recalled that most of these come from the United States where pornographic video production companies are substantially in the hands of organised crime.
Yours faithfully,
J. De Bruyn
National Secretary-Treasurer.
At the risk of being anecdotal - one matter that I will now mention is not anecdotal - I also point out that, whilst I accept Mr Moore's point, which I think was made during several debates that we have had on this issue by persons who are in favour of not banning X-rated videos, that there is certainly more evidence that excessively violent material has a damaging effect on people, it is not true at all to say that pornography has no effect on people - far from it. I will quote now from a report in the Courier-Mail of 9 June 1989. The heading stated "Man Gaoled for Rape of Girl, 11". The report states:
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