AUSTRALIA—The Australian Sex Party has been up in arms for years about a question that Australian Customs first placed on Incoming Passenger Cards in 2010 that ask people seeking to enter the country if they are carrying any pornography. Sex Party president Fiona Patten said at the time that she feared the change marked the beginning of a new era of official investigation into people’s private lives in which being investigated or searched on the basis that you might have legal material in your possession will become the norm.
Her fear was well-founded. Not only has the government continued its intrusive questioning, but the Sex Party now says state and federal governments are increasingly directing Customs and police forces to crack down on sexually explicit material, wasting valuable resources that could be used to track firearms and other contraband being smuggled into the country.
In an announcement issued Thursday, the Sex Party stated, "Customs officers now routinely intercept every shipment of X18+ films and Category 1 and 2 restricted magazines that come into Australia. One in every 10 people are either searched or questioned regarding the question that is asked on the Incoming Passenger Cards about ‘pornography’. Federal censorship authorities (the Classification Liaison Service) write over 20 letters each month to state police forces asking them to raid and prosecute businesses for selling federally classified X18+ films and in Queensland, Restricted Publications."
Adding injury to insult, added Sex Party Public Officer Robbie Swan, the waste of enforcement resources on victimless crimes like non-violent erotica is in direct proportion to the lack of resources in tackling gun crimes.
“Every week state police forces will send an average of six police officers into an adult shop to raid and pack up an average of 4,000 X18+ films and document them for a court case.” he said. “Before the case gets to court an average of 100 police hours would be spent on processing the material and the paperwork to prosecute. Customs officers spend more time looking for porn than they do looking for firearms. We have attended Customs briefings where they bring out magnifying glasses to examine pornography with up to six Customs agents in the room."
Swan has called on federal Attorney General Nicola Roxon to implement the recommendations of the recent Australian Law Reform Commission’s enquiry into censorship laws in Australia. If accepted, these reforms would free up large amounts of Customs and police hours, to focus on more important problems.
More information about the Australian Law Reform Commission can be found here.
More information about the Australian Sex Party can be found here.
