Page 2265 - Week 08 - Thursday, 7 June 1990
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If you disagree with him, if you think that X-rated material should not be available - which is what Mr Stefaniak said, which is what Mr Jensen said, which is what Mr Kaine said, which is what Mr Humphries said, which is what Dr Kinloch said, which is what Mr Prowse said wearing his political cap rather than the Speaker's, and I have left Mrs Nolan out but I think Mrs Nolan has also gone on record as being against X-rated video material - if that is what you believe in, then take a vote in your party room and direct your Attorney-General to exercise his clear powers to ban the material.
The Assembly has given the Attorney-General, as the Minister in charge of the Publications Control (Amendment) Act, clear power to prescribe areas. The Assembly has said it is an offence to publish this material otherwise than in an area prescribed. Mr Collaery, as Attorney-General, has the power, at the stroke of his pen, directed by the party room, to either allow or not allow X-rated video material. Let us not hide behind this smokescreen. Do not get up, Mr Kaine, and pretend that you are the custodian of high moral virtues - - -
Ms Maher: The majority of this Assembly does not want to ban them.
MR CONNOLLY: The majority of this Assembly has given you power to ban them.
Ms Maher: But it does not want to ban them. It voted on it last year.
MR SPEAKER: Order!
MR CONNOLLY: You are the Government and you have the responsibility to administer this Act. You have got the power to ban the material or allow it, at the stroke of Mr Collaery's pen. Mr Kaine cannot get away in the community with pretending that he would like to ban the material and pretending that he has to tax it because he cannot ban it. He can ban it. Of course, he does not really want to. He would prefer, sensibly, to keep this tax. He would prefer to continue to enjoy the revenue of the tax - and it was this party which originally proposed a tax on this material.
But let us get away from this hypocrisy and humbug, that we would really like to get rid of X-rated material and we would really like to ban it but we cannot. Mr Collaery along with Mr Duby and Ms Maher are the only members who have expressed the views that they do not believe the material should be banned, so I will leave them out of this. They are not displaying hypocrisy on this material.
Mr Duby: Libertarians.
MR CONNOLLY: "Libertarians", indeed, says Mr Duby. I address the rest of the Government - Mr Kaine as Leader of
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