David Feeney (Batman, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Justice) Share this | Hansard source

My remarks on this bill will follow very much in the vein of the previous speaker. Once again, we see a fine piece of Labor legislation before the House, a piece of legislation which the Labor Party welcomes. The Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment (Classification Tools and Other Measures) Bill 2014 will be supported by the Labor Party. It is also the latest instalment in what is plainly becoming a habit for Minister Keenan—that is, to bring Labor policy and Labor legislation into this House.    Labor has a strong record of achievement in this policy area. The bill amends the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Act 1995—the classification act—and makes consequential amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

As members will be aware, the classification act provides for the classification of publications, films and computer games. It forms part of a cooperative Commonwealth, state and territory scheme—the National Classification Scheme, the NCS.

The NCS is designed to provide consumers with information about publications, films and computer games to allow them to make informed decisions about appropriate entertainment material for themselves and for those in their care. The NCS has not had a significant review since it was established in 1996. Since that time classifiable

content and the way in which it is delivered to consumers has changed dramatically. For example, consumers now have ready access to classifiable content on a variety of platforms, such as the delivery of computer games on mobile and other online devices. It is easy to contemplate how in 20 years this space has been transformed by technology. In the context of ever-greater convergence of media technologies, platforms and services, and more media being accessed from the home through high-speed broadband networks, the need for a comprehensive review of classification laws and regulations became apparent to the former Labor government.    

The major principles that have informed media classification in Australia—items such as adults being free to make their own informed media choices and children being protected from material that may cause harm—continue to be relevant and important. While a convergent media environment presents major new challenges, there continues to be a community expectation that certain media content will be accompanied by classification information, based on decisions that broadly reflect community standards.

In light of these changes and the broader developments in technology, media convergence and the availability of global content, the Australian Law Reform Commission, the ALRC, was asked by the former Labor government in March 2011 to inquire into and report on the framework for the classification of media content in Australia. The report, Classification —Content Regulation and Convergent Media, was tabled in parliament in March 2012. The ALRC report made a total of 57 recommendations for changes to the regulatory framework and structure of the NCS.

In February 2012, the former Minister for Justice and Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon. Jason Clare MP, introduced an act to implement recommendations found in the ALRC report, the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment (R18+ Computer Games) Bill 2012. A number of the recommendations, which are limited in their application to content, currently regulated under the NCS, had been identified by the then Labor government for implementation as a 'first tranche' of reforms.

The bill before the House implements the first tranche of reforms and was based on those recommendations. This means that Labor in office, having identified the deficiencies in this legislation, in this framework—which were coming under ever-greater strain and pressure from technology change, such as the convergent media, the global content—sought and received in due course a report. This report made 57 recommendations and that reform process is well underway. Minister Keenan has brought a bill into this parliament which reflects that important work done by the former government.

Let me to speak very briefly about the reforms found in this legislation. These reforms will broaden the scope of existing exempt film categories and streamline exemption arrangements for film festivals and cultural institutions. They will enable certain content to be classified using classification tools, such as online questionnaires that deliver automated decisions. As an aside, when one contemplates the tsunami of work that the National Classification Scheme is required to deal with—online content, apps and material accessed from tablets and phones—that kind of tool is absolutely essential to there being a meaningful classification regime for those modes of information and content. Thirdly, this bill will create an explicit requirement in the classification act to display classification markings on all classified content.

Fourthly, this bill will expand the exemptions to the modifications rule so that films and computer games that are subject to certain types of modifications do not require classification again. That is simply a common-sense amendment that goes to the fact that every time the form of a film was changed, every time the form of content was changed, every time a game was amended slightly or significantly by patches or bug fixes then that in theory produced a new product requiring a new classification. It was something that was creating an onerous workload without actually achieving policy intent. This is a very practical reform to assist the NCS to get on top of its task.

Fifthly, it will enable the Attorney-General's Department to notify law enforcement authorities of potential refused classification content without having the content classified first. This will help expedite the removal of extremely offensive or illegal content from distribution. Again, this is a common-sense measure that will assist our law enforcement authorities to get on with their job and their very important task in this space.

This bill delivers reforms that will benefit industry by streamlining processes while continuing to ensure that consumers receive useful and accurate classification information. It is worth again noting that that benefit to industry is also very important. Industry obviously manages its affairs to make sure it is serving its consumers, and the content is often prepared with particular markets in mind. This is a scheme that will save them money and time.

The former Labor government was responsible for securing the agreement of the Standing Council on Law and Justice in April 2013 for six of those 57 recommendations listed in the ALRC report. Minister Clare, then Minister for Home Affairs, did the hard yards by taking this report's recommendations to that Standing Council on Law and Justice and doing the heavy lifting in terms of securing agreement from states and territories. This bill implements those six recommendations. It implements that accomplishment of Minister Clare. In addition, it will make a number of minor amendments to the classification act that will improve the clarity of certain provisions, address legislative anomalies and enhance the administrative efficiency of the NCS. These include providing an explicit power for the minister to determine the rules for the display of consumer advice, aligning the provisions relating to the computer games authorised assessor scheme with the newer provisions relating to additional content assessors, amending section 38(1) to address the ambiguity that exists in relation to the date that a classification decision is made because the provision currently refers to when a classification is done and, lastly, replacing the requirement that the classification board contains senior classifiers with discretion to appoint senior classifiers.

The former Labor government did all the heavy lifting to enable this bill. It was Labor that asked the Australian Law Reform Commission to inquire into Australia's classification and censorship review—remarkably, the first such review in 20 years. It was Labor that took the recommendations of that report to the Standing Council on Law and Justice in April 2013, and it was Labor that secured the agreement of state and territory ministers that has borne fruit today in this bill.

In summary, Minister Keenan has found himself with a fine inheritance from the former Labor government. In fact, it is worth noting that the only legislation he has brought into this parliament has been Labor legislation. But we will never hear Minister Keenan acknowledge his inheritance. He has given his predecessor no credit for his work. Without blushing Minister Keenan issued a press release on 19 March titled 'New bill streamlines Australia's classification system', notwithstanding the fact that this was a program that was well advanced and, indeed, virtually complete. But soon Minister Keenan will need to make his own mark in this important portfolio.

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