Page 1741 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 18 August 1992
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I would be interested to discover just what the Chief Censor and the Attorneys-General consider to be signs of female sexual excitement. Let me remind members that I am talking here about unrestricted material. In the preamble to the guidelines, the Chief Censor says:
Publications considered to be offensive to some adults and unsuitable for those under 18 years of age are assigned a restricted category.
In my estimation, Picture magazine conforms to that definition of material which is not suitable to be publicly available for people under 18 years of age. I accept that young people engage in sexual activity. However, if we have guidelines that restrict publications that depict sexuality, why can they not be enforced to offer some relief for those people who find these publications offensive and who wish to shield their children from such material until they are able to understand them; that is, when children understand sexual relationships?
I find it a strange set of guidelines that restricts the depiction of consenting and loving sex between two adults in non-violent erotica videos sold in special premises, but which allows magazines which portray an unrealistic image of sexuality to be sold over the counter in newsagencies, service stations and other retail outlets and to people under 18 years of age. Again the guidelines say:
An adult should be able to frequent public places without unsolicited and unwanted exposure to offensive material. Parents, also, should be able to assume that their children will not be exposed to unsuitable material. Consequently, covers and posters classified as Unrestricted and Category 1: (1) will be suitable for display in a public place; and (2) should not be unsuitable for perusal by persons up to 18 years of age.
If these are the standards that are to be met, why is there still debate over the material that can be found on the shelves of newsagencies, service stations and other retail outlets? The answer is: Because the codes are voluntary and publishers have to volunteer to have their publications classified. If they are not, then the guidelines assume that publishers would act as though their magazines had been classified. I seek leave to table this Picture magazine, Madam Speaker.
Leave granted.
MS SZUTY: As can be seen from this Picture magazine, there is perhaps a hope that the Chief Censor will not check some of the material unless it comes to his attention. However, I would think that these publications have been brought to his attention, as the groups who have been lobbying on this issue would have been remiss had they not approached the Chief Censor with their concerns. There must have been some recognition of the problem for the guidelines to have been redrawn in June of this year. I acknowledge that some newsagencies have already responded to community concerns and no longer stock the magazines mentioned, or do so more discreetly.
I believe, Madam Speaker, that this Assembly needs to discuss this issue, which is why I have raised it today as a matter of public importance. I believe that remedies should be available to us as a community to ensure that our ability to move around our neighbourhoods and to conduct business with our newsagents and service station proprietors should occur without confronting material which
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