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ABORIGINAL women had singled out SBS television as one of the main distributors of pornography in the Northern Territory, Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough said yesterday.
As of today, anyone caught in an Aboriginal community in the NT with pornographic DVDs or magazines faces fines of up to $11,000. People in possession of five or more prohibited items will be automatically deemed traffickers and face up to two years' jail. The bans form part of the second phase of the Federal Government's intervention in the NT but critics claim they do not target problem areas and will be easily undermined. ``Foxtel's R-rated channel is still by far the major source of porn going into communities and unfortunately the Federal Government hasn't turned that stream off yet,'' said Robbie Swan from the Eros Foundation, an adult entertainment industry lobby group. ``The Minister is aware of it but he's finding it difficult to deal with it because big business owns that.'' Mr Swan said only 15 to 25 per cent of pornographic material viewed in remote Aboriginal communities came in the form of DVDs or magazines; the rest was sourced through pay or commercial television.
He said there was ``plenty of evidence'' to suggest that Foxtel representatives were promoting the channel in Aboriginal communities, despite the Government's intervention. Mr Brough yesterday said the Attorney-General's Department was looking at ways to restrict cable salesmen from selling their products but he said the concerns of Aboriginal women lay elsewhere. During a visit to Alice Springs a few weeks ago, Mr Brough said he was surprised to learn that SBS was considered to be a problem. ``The women actually said to me their greatest concern of television type programs was SBS, believe it or not,'' he said on ABC Radio yesterday. Mr Swan said the Government could legislate against pornographic pay TV in remote communities but ``it is about the political will to go that extra step''. In addition, he said rogue traders were still operating from Darwin post office boxes selling unclassified and pirated X-rated films. To stop this, Mr Swan called for a licensing scheme for all adult movie traders in the Northern Territory. |
