Minister demands stronger stand on Internet pornography

18/3/00
The Minister Responsible for Censorship, Cheryl Edwardes, has reacted angrily to the Federal Government's refusal to allow Western Australian laws to penalise people responsible for the transmission of pornographic material on the Internet.
Mrs Edwardes said the Commonwealth had failed to appreciate the gravity of the issue and the level of public concern over children having access to restricted material.
"This issue is quite simply about protecting our children," she said.
Mrs Edwardes said existing WA censorship laws permit prosecutions to be brought, and impose a penalty of imprisonment, if Internet Service Providers and/or 'content hosts' transmit pornography to Internet users, including children.
"The WA laws do not require the offenders to have actual knowledge that they are transmitting the material, although they can offer a valid defence that they have complied with the standards of care set out in codes of practice," she said
"However, recent Commonwealth legislation means the relevant provision in the State Censorship Act can no longer operate."
Mrs Edwardes said she had sought an exemption from the Commonwealth to enable Western Australia's strong stance on the transmission of pornography on the Internet to continue to operate, but had been told by Communications Minister Senator Richard Alston this week that the exemption would not be granted.
"This is another example of the Commonwealth overriding and weakening our State laws," she said.
"The effect of the Commonwealth refusal is that Internet Service Providers and content hosts can operate under the much weaker and permissive Commonwealth legislation, which requires knowledge for an offence to be committed and does not have imprisonment as a penalty.
"In marked contrast, the WA Government has consistently taken - and legislated for - a much stronger approach to stamping out pornography in Western Australia, including via the Internet."
Mrs Edwardes said the WA community would not tolerate such an unacceptable lowering of standards, and she would continue to press for the WA laws to operate.
Media contact: Amanda O'Brien on 9421 7777