Page 2079 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 5 June 1990
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Mr Speaker, I will oppose the Bill. It goes a long way towards legitimising X-rated videos in this town and I can only but agree with those many members opposite who fought with me against such attacks.
MR DUBY (Minister for Finance and Urban Services) (10.13), in reply: Before I close the debate on this Business Franchise ("X" Videos) Bill and on the Taxation (Administration) (Amendment) Bill, I would like the Hansard to record that not one member of the Labor Party is in the chamber at this moment. Only last week I heard Ms Follett on a radio program criticising this Government for not taking the hard decisions that are required in order to address the issue of not only cutting costs but also raising revenues. One of the particular items that she mentioned was that we did not have the guts to do something about X-rated videos.
Mr Speaker, I think we know now where the courage of Labor members' convictions is. It is in their meeting room, and they are probably having a lobby now to determine whether they can vote for it or agin it. Either way they do not want their comments to be recorded in Hansard. In looking at these two pieces of legislation, one must realise that, in effect, they must really be taken in conjunction with the Bill that was passed earlier this evening - namely, the Publications Control (Amendment) Bill - which has tightened up and regulated the sale, distribution and hire of X-rated material here in the ACT.
Mr Speaker, this has been a matter of community concern for many, many years, and now that that Bill is in place the community can be reassured that their genuine concerns are being addressed. I think it is very important that this Government also address the issues that are concerning other members of the community, particularly the financial state of affairs in which we find ourselves. This state of affairs has many causes, one of which is the stewardship demonstrated by the previous Labor Government.
The Business Franchise ("X" Videos) Bill will facilitate the introduction of a business franchise scheme in relation to the X-rated video industry in the ACT. The purpose of that is to raise revenue from the industry while at the same time providing an additional level of regulation, even more than is currently exhibited within the Publications Control Act. The Bill provides evidence of the Alliance Government's commitment to balance the 1990-91 budget while at the same time addressing those community concerns on the adult video industry in the ACT which I mentioned earlier.
The essential elements of this package include that distributors of X-rated video material in the ACT are to be licensed; that licensed distribution outlets are to be restricted to the individual suburbs of Hume, Mitchell and Fyshwick; that the licence fee for each premise used for the distribution of X-rated video material is to be levied
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