Page 3217 - Week 10 - Thursday, 16 September 1993
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What about the quality of life in Canberra since then? One of the greatest blights on the nation of Australia, let alone the capital, is the fact that we are known as the porn capital throughout Australia. Again and again we spend money on investigations and inquiries. We stand up in this Assembly and we talk about violence against women, and about child sexual abuse, child molestation, incest and other things. The most worthwhile thing that you could do in helping to alleviate the problem would be to stop educating the population - whatever percentage of it is being educated along those lines - that women are to be used for sexual purposes. Our surveys on the porn that is available in newsagents, service stations and so on around Canberra show overwhelmingly that people do not agree that that should be on sale in family stores, and it should not. What have we done about it? Nothing. We watch the rape rate, the violence rate and the child abuse rate increase around Australia while we fiddle at the edges.
There is tremendous frustration. Nineteen groups were represented at a meeting on Acton Peninsula, a community rally, just a few weeks ago. I do not know whether any of the members of the Labor Party know much about it, because I did not see any of them there. There were representatives there from every other party.
Mr Berry: Were you there?
MR STEVENSON: Yes, I was there, Mr Berry. There are 19 groups - that is incredible - working against what has happened.
Mr Connolly: There were 80 people. That is about four people per group.
MR STEVENSON: There were hundreds of people there. If you had gone along you would have seen them. There is this tremendous frustration that people feel because they find that they are fighting against the very people in the Assembly who should be working on their behalf. While the word "consultation" is often used, consultation rarely occurs. Where was the consultation before the various budget cuts and tax increases were made? We have heard nothing about that. The reason we have not is that there was none. These were just thrown on people, on the rural sector and on various other areas.
Someone told me another story recently. The ACT was contacted with a proposal that could have brought in millions and millions of dollars to the ACT - a new business involved in recycling locating here. Another State jumped at the chance. It said, "We will give you free land, and pay half of the multi-million dollars that are necessary". What happened in the ACT? They did not even get a reply.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! Your time has expired, Mr Stevenson.
MR KAINE (4.02): Madam Speaker, - - -
Mr Wood: This is the real speech, is it?
MR KAINE: No, this is the fun one.
Mr Wood: Are you going to give us the Liberal counterbudget, which Mrs Carnell did not do?
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