Page 2057 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 5 June 1990
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31 August 1990. Section 39 of the principal Act gives the Minister power to prescribe anything necessary to be prescribed under the Act. If by 31 August 1990 the Minister has done nothing - that is, has not prescribed areas - it will be unlawful to sell or offer for sale an X-rated video anywhere in Canberra because there will be no prescribed areas.
In introducing the Bill, Mr Collaery seemed to indicate in his presentation speech a clear intention that areas will be prescribed and that those areas will be Fyshwick, Hume and Mitchell. But the point that all members of this Assembly should be aware of, and this may indeed change Mr Stevenson's view of this Bill - he may change from opposing it to vigorously supporting it - is that, if clause 4 is passed and the Attorney chooses to do nothing, or is persuaded by his Cabinet colleagues in the Alliance Cabinet room or indeed in the Alliance Party room to do nothing, then from 31 August 1990 it will be unlawful to sell X-rated videos anywhere in Canberra.
This Bill does not restrict the sale of videos to industrial areas of Canberra. It prohibits the sale of videos unless an area is prescribed. If no area is prescribed, it will be unlawful to sell an X-rated video in Canberra from that date.
MR JENSEN (8.47): I will be brief, Mr Speaker. Tonight I will support this Bill which, in the absence of the support of sufficient numbers to remove this industry from the ACT and the failure of the Federal Parliament to meet its obligations to remove this objectionable material from our society, provides the next best thing. This is in accordance with the policy of the Rally and also, of course, the Alliance Government. Members will recall that I am on record as seeking to remove the material from our society and from the rest of our nation. However, it is unfortunate that the other States have not seen fit to enforce their own legislation and seek to blame the ACT. The Federal Labor regime failed to follow the States and sought to inflict the industry on the ACT and the Northern Territory. My colleague Mr Collaery has already indicated his concern about the hypocrisy of this issue on the part of the other States.
I am glad that this Bill will ensure that no longer can the industry send out on an unsolicited basis objectionable advertising material without ensuring that the material has been properly double-enveloped and secured. However, I do have one point which I would like to raise with the Attorney-General. Clause 7(b) of the Bill, which amends section 27 by adding subsection (3)(a), requires the industry to provide a warning on the inner envelope to ensure that there can be no doubt about the nature of the material by those who open it, especially when it is unsolicited. I ask the Attorney-General to produce the necessary regulations to specify the size and style of the warning required by clause 7 of the Bill.
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