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Other Parliamentary SpeechesThis page is dedicated to Peter's speeches during parliament that do not fall under Questions or Questions without notice. They range from debating legislation, reporting on events or issues in his seat of Southport and his Ministerial Statements.
Criminal Code (Child Pornography and Abuse) Amendment Bill |
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| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Mar 09 2005 |
| Other Speeches >> |
Mr LAWLOR (Southport-ALP) (5.12 pm): Every person who accesses child pornography is responsible for the sexual abuse of children. There is no way that they can rationalise or justify their actions by saying that they do not have direct contact with children because they are creating a market for this disgusting material. With no consumers there is no demand for this type of material. With no demand there is no industry, and at least insofar as it relates to this type of material there is no abuse of children. That is why this bill is so important in the fight against this scourge of child sexual abuse.
One of the negatives of the technology revolution is the ease with which it enables access to child pornographic material via the internet. Recent arrests across the nation highlight the extent of this problem. People from all walks of life have been the subject of charges. Hardly a day goes by without us picking up a paper or watching TV and seeing that a person has been charged with this type of offence. It is a cancer in our society which must be excised.
This bill is an important weapon which confirms the government's tough approach to child sexual offences. Those who produce and possess child exploitation material deserve the harsh penalties which this bill provides. Hopefully it will reduce and eventually eliminate this objectionable material. Importantly, the definition of child exploitation material is wide enough to include images, sound recordings, objects and written descriptions. It will not be necessary to prove that a child depicted in material was, in fact, less than 16 years of age; that will be the subject of an objective test, that is, that it is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult. There are some limited defences set out in the bill. For instance, a person cannot be convicted of one of these serious offences if the material has been approved by the classification system or if the material is exempted for medical, educational or scientific purposes.
Another important point is that section 228F requires a court to exclude all non-essential people from the courtroom while such material is on display. That is a completely logical reaction, despite what the member for Beaudesert has just said. It is logical to exclude people from the courtroom in these circumstances, as it is in other situations where children giving evidence and so on are protected from their accusers. It is just a logical reaction. Since this is about child pornography there is no point in allowing complete access to the public and then showing exactly this material. As I have said previously, this bill confirms the government's tough approach to child sex offences, and it is an effort to minimise and hopefully eliminate child exploitation and abuse by attacking the market for child pornography. I commend the bill to the House. Last changed: [PUBLISHED_DATE] at 11:00 PM
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