Page 2676 - Week 09 - Thursday, 25 August 1994
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markings and entry to the place is restricted to adults or minors who are in the care of a parent or guardian. The ACT has joined with all other Australian jurisdictions in supporting the ban on X(18+) and R(18+) computer games. Some may say that there is an inconsistency between the banning of X(18+) and R(18+) computer games and the allowance of X- and R-rated videos. We took the view that, because of the possibility of bulletin boards, there may be a certain pointlessness in the exercise; but we are prepared to go along with it.
It is believed that the serious concerns expressed about the harmful effects of the interactive nature of these games justify the difference in treatment. I still have some reservations about the effectiveness of such a ban and I will continue to monitor the situation to try to ensure that such material is not available illegally. Modern technology and the use of so-called "bulletin boards" mean that it is virtually impossible to stop anyone with a personal computer and a telephone from accessing this type of material, even from outside Australia.
Those involved in the computer industry may say that the compulsory nature of the scheme is too onerous a requirement to impose on their industry. This same issue has been raised with my colleagues from other jurisdictions, and the consensus was that it is necessary to enact a compulsory scheme to provide for certainty and to enable the scheme to operate effectively. It is worth emphasising that the scheme is about protecting people, and children in particular, from offensive or disturbing material. It should be noted that the computer games scheme outlined is an interim scheme only. In due course, it will be encompassed by a proposed new national censorship scheme, endorsed by the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, which will deal with all censorship material and replace the existing cooperative scheme, which does not cover all States and Territories.
The new Commonwealth classification Bill, which replaces the Classification of Publications Ordinance 1983, has already been introduced into Federal Parliament and will require complementary uniform enforcement legislation to be enacted by all the States and Territories. This legislation is currently being drafted, and it is envisaged that the new national scheme will commence at some time in the second half of 1995.
It is expected that there will be some definitional differences between the interim scheme and the new national scheme. The changes concern the definition of "computer games". They will serve to expand the definition of "computer game" to cover the direct transfer of film or video to CD-ROM without any alteration to the film or video and will also ensure that material such as the Channel 9 Sex series, which is being formatted as a sex education tool, can be made legally available on CD-ROM. These changes are necessary because of the possibility of being able to obtain, say, an R-rated film on video but not being able to obtain that same film if it were transferred to CD-ROM format. In respect of the Sex series, we might have had a situation where a program which was shown on prime time television could not have been seen and used in a CD-ROM format because of the more restrictive approach being taken to computer game formatted material.
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