Page 1154 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 24 June 1992
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been massively exposed to X-rated videos - and that is just under five hours over six weeks - who would say that none of them will be affected? Will these people who are already confused by sexuality, these people who are already immature and emotionally upset in many cases, go out and kidnap a 12-year-old girl, as happened with young Sian Kingi? Will they rape her over a period of time, torture her, and then kill her and bury her in a ditch? Is this what we want? Do we want people to be influenced by pornography to treat women and children as sexual playthings?
There are many victims of pornography. It may be a wife whose husband has watched pornography and wants her to do the things that are shown in the pornography, to do the things that people are paid to do - to be urinated on, to be chained and tied. I see some members, particularly the women members in the house, with a distasteful look when I mention these things. I can absolutely agree that it is distasteful, but I think it is important that we know what we are talking about.
Mr Berry: Bored.
Mr Moore: Boring.
MR STEVENSON: We have a number of comments from some of the Labor members and from Mr Moore that it is boredom. I will leave that comment rest; people who read the Hansard can make their own decision.
A noted American psychiatrist, Dr Melvin Anshell, said after seeing 250-odd sex offenders in his practice in the Hollywood area in America, that there were four characteristics that these people inevitably displayed. These are not in any order. He said that these sex offenders were all involved in pornography. They tended to become desensitised to the pornography. What was once of concern to them was no longer of concern after looking at pornography. This is probably why people who have been massively exposed to X-rated videos, non-violent erotica, porn movies, hand down lighter rape sentences and think that in some degree the girl got what she deserved.
Dr Anshell also said that people tend to become addicted to what they see. Many people find it hard to imagine that someone could become addicted to pornography, but I have seen it in the research many times in regard to people who have to look at pornography every hour or two at work. In my office one day there was a 31-year-old man who told me how that had come to be his situation in life. Every hour or two in his job, through every day, he would have to look at pornography. That is what they call an addiction. There is also an escalation of the amount of material. It might start out as just a couple and then it escalates. These things, Dr Anshell showed, were almost inevitable. Then there is a tendency to act out that which is seen.
In Canberra we thought we might get somewhere between $3m and $5m from taxing porn pushers. We got $375,000 in the 1990-91 year and only $108,000 so far this year, which is nearly over. The Northern Territory would not allow our pornography manufacturers to go up there. They said that they did not want to become accessories to laws being flouted throughout Australia. Madam Speaker, I ask that members rethink their position on X-rated videos and ban them, as every State in Australia has done.
Debate (on motion by Mr Connolly) adjourned.
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