Page 1269 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 24 April 1990
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
statistics or the case studies or the anecdotal evidence. I do not believe that I have been at all persuaded by much of the argument. I do not intend to add to it.
However, before members vote on this matter I should like to review a few of the matters that have been brought up and some of the things that have been said. People need to think a little before they vote. The first thing on which I should like to comment is the assertion by the Leader of the Opposition that this is a trivial matter. This is not a trivial matter. The public interest in this matter is not only confined to the debates in this Assembly. There have been public rallies in the ACT and there has been very broad media coverage of the issue. I submit that the rallies outside this Assembly on this issue have brought more people here than any other issue during the life of this Assembly. To assert that this is a trivial issue is to misread totally the response of the public to it.
Not only have we been lobbied by many people who live in this Territory but also every member of this Assembly has received hundreds of letters from people all over Australia. We have received personal representations from residents of the ACT and people outside the ACT. This is not a trivial matter. The community does not regard it as trivial. It takes it very seriously and is looking to this Assembly for some leadership on this matter.
People have gone to great lengths to explain what an X-rated video is - non-violent erotica, hard-core porn, call it what you like. They have tried to make the distinction between X-rated and R-rated videos. The people on the street are not concerned with that academic argument. They know that there are nasty things on those videos, that there are things on them which affect them and their families. You can laugh.
Mr Moore: I am, because it is so pathetic.
MR KAINE: You have expressed your viewpoint; I am expressing mine. People know that there are videos out there which they believe are harmful to them and their children, and they are not very concerned about the niceties of whether they are called X-rated or R-rated or any kind of video.
It is the responsibility of the people in this Assembly to listen to what the community is saying and make a judgment about that, and not get tied up in the academic argument of what is X-rated or R-rated. Listen to the voice of the community. You, Mr Moore, might take note of that comment, because you do not appear to be ready to listen to anybody.
Mr Moore: Look who is talking about education cuts. Look who is talking about how the community is going to respond to your budget.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .