Sophie Mirabella (Indi, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry and Science) Share this | Hansard source

I spoke on that motion, and you were there and you heard me. It was a report that did not address the very serious issues. It is time we did something real. It is time we said to the Advertising Standards Board, 'Don't mock us.' Self-regulation does not work; we know that. If you have ignored the welfare of children just to make a quick, easy buck through advertising, perhaps it is time to tighten regulation on advertising. Perhaps it is time to discuss a statutory body with real powers, including issuing serious fines to offenders, because if all you get is a slap with a wet lettuce then you are going to continue taking the easy way out. We need to reclaim our public spaces in a very real way. They are the wallpaper around which our children grow up. Let us recognise the sexualisation of women and children as the toxin it is, and let us be adults and recognise our responsibility to protect the children of this country.

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