AUSTRALIA — People caught in Northern Territory aboriginal communities owning five or more pornographic videos or magazines will be considered traffickers and could face up to two years in prison.Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough recently introduced into Parliament the draft laws underpinning the federal Government’s radical, new porn intervention into Northern Territory aboriginal communities.
One part of the legislation is a ban on X-rated films and Category 1 and Category 2 pornographic books and magazines.
Unlike existing laws in the territory, the ban applies to possessing prohibited material without the intention to copy or sell it.
“The Little Children Are Sacred report revealed the availability of pornography in Northern Territory communities is a factor contributing to child sexual abuse, being used to groom children for sex, and desensitizing children to violence and inappropriate sexual behavior,” Brough told Parliament, according to the local media.
People caught in possession of “level one” prohibited material will face a fine of up to A$5500 ($6,240 US). Those in possession of “level two” material will face a fine of up to A$11,000.
People caught in possession of five or more prohibited items will be automatically considered traffickers, even if they are not seeking financial gain out of supplying the material.
Those people will face penalties of up to two years’ imprisonment and fines of more than A$20,000.
The bill would also ban delivering or sending pornographic material into the area, Brough said.
“And this ban applies no matter where material is being sent from – from within the Northern Territory or from other parts of Australia such as the adult DVD industry based in the Australian Capital Territory,” the minister said.
With all the consumption however, the majority of porn consumed within the country is pirated with the group Adult Industry Copyright Organization (AICO) estimating that at least 85-percent of the porn consumed within the country is not purchased from distributors or manufacturers but instead from independent producers stealing intellectual property from American companies.
