Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

People say they have read my book. If you have read the book, you would know that it is nowhere near as confronting as some of these billboard advertisements. Also, if  you buy my book and read it you make a choice, whereas a five-year-old kid or a 10-year-old kid who is being driven to school does not make a choice about the billboard they see or the ads they see out the front of the newspaper shop. This matter was raised by Guy Barnett, a Liberal senator, when looking generally at what Australians need to see. It is something I have considered. I intend to talk to Senator Barnett.

I know this matter has been recommended to go to Senator Trish Crossin’s Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. It is certainly something I care passionately about. With modern electronic billboards what you see at 8.30 at night is not what you need to see at 8.30 in the morning when kids are going to school. With electronic billboards we can now have more confronting material after 8.30 at night, as we do with television. And there are entertainment precincts where the advertisements might be completely different from what we see at school. Obviously, billboard advertising is about selling material rather than looking after decency. It is more important that we make sure public decency is looked after. That is something the Gillard Labor government can play a role in. I look forward to consulting with Senator Crossin and with Senator Barnett to see how we might assist them in that process.

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