My question is to Senator Ellison, the Minister representing the Attorney-General. Following reports that cinemas are ignoring new film classification laws and that the chief censor has little interest in pursuing prosecution, what is the government going to do to require the Office of Film and Literature Classification to protect children by enforcing guidelines and ensuring that operators who breach them are prosecuted?

The government takes a very strong line in relation to the protection of children from material that could be harmful to them, be it in the print media or in the electronic media. Firstly, I might say that in relation to television there are provisions of the Broadcasting Services Act in which there are standards. In fact, programming on commercial free-to-air networks must be in line with the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice. I understand that there have been recent complaints about a particular program which went to air on Channel 10. Of course, that is television. In relation to films, we have the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995. That is a regime which does set a standard and we will see as a government that that standard is enforced.

I understand that there have been a number of recent film classifications--and I am not sure if Senator Fielding's reference is to those--and I can provide him with the detail on those. But if he has any information on someone who contravenes those classification rules then I would very much like to know about it so that we can enforce them. We do not have these classifications merely to pay lip-service. I understand that there have been strict classifications imposed on some recent films, such as Mysterious Skin. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, I think, was a game that was included in one, and there are some others. Certainly, I would say to anyone who is concerned about this area that the government is deadly serious about enforcing these classification rules, and if there is any evidence of those being breached then certainly we would want them to be enforced.

Mr President, I have a supplementary question. There were recent reports in the papers about this issue. What confidence can parents have in the sincerity of government statements about protecting children from the impact of such material when its own agency, the Office of Film and Literature Classification, turns a blind eye to what really is happening?