Page 937 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 30 March 1993
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We have a situation in Canberra where tomorrow you can walk down the street at 9.00 am, or where children can go into family stores all over Canberra, and be taught how to treat women. Ms Ellis talked about women being degraded, about people considering women not to be important. They are taught that every day when they see women depicted as sexual objects in every one of the communities we live in in Canberra. What have we done about it? Nothing. We talk about spending untold millions of dollars to put bandaids on the problem; we talk about reports that must cost a great deal of money in themselves, let alone the cost of the inquiries. But do we handle the major factor in the increase in violence against women in Australia, in Canberra? No, we do not. We allow our children to be taught from a very early age that women are to be used. We allow them to see magazines showing a naked woman with a dog collar and a chain, down on all fours. Children learn well.
Mr Connolly: No, that is not allowed, Dennis; you know that. You know that that has been dealt with by the censorship authorities.
MR STEVENSON: Mr Connolly says that I know that that has been dealt with by the censorship authorities. What we are talking about is a magazine that appeared for some time on the bookstands. Nothing was done about it initially by the censorship authorities. It was public complaints that caused it to be withdrawn.
Mr Connolly: So it was not allowed.
MR STEVENSON: You have a chat yourself in a minute. I have not long to go. Yet Mr Connolly suggests that that was dealt with. Why are not the X-rated videos in this town that depict child pornography also dealt with? When have you done something about these?
Mr Berry: Child pornography is illegal.
MR STEVENSON: Depictions of child pornography. You heard what I said.
Mr Connolly: If there is child pornography in Canberra, you tell us about it, because it is a serious criminal offence. We will have a police car out there in 10 minutes.
MR STEVENSON: You try again and again to misrepresent what I have said. You know full well the definition of the word "depictions"; "depictions" means depictions. I did not say that it was under-age children; it is women dressed as under-age children. Does that not concern you? Not a word!
Let us look at some solutions that will reduce violence, not just in Canberra but in Australia. We should remove pornography from family stores so that our children are no longer taught that it is acceptable to see women as sex objects. We should prohibit, as does every State in Australia, X-rated video pornography.
Mr Berry: There is no pornography in my family store. Is there any in yours?
MR STEVENSON: Mr Berry must see some humour in this entire question. I think that is unfortunate. We should prohibit the promotion of pornography in its various forms. As well, we should do something about the alcohol problem.
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