Aussie Politician: Ban All Hardcore Porn

CANBERRA, Australia - Former Nationals leader John Anderson is calling for Prime Minister John Howard to extend restrictions on hardcore porn in Australia's Northern Territories to a nationwide ban.

Howard proposed the ban as an attempt to fight child sex abuse among the country's indigenous communities. The move has been met with support from Christian lobbyists, but Aboriginal leaders argue that the decision is discriminatory.

"You can't restrict this to just Aboriginal children," Anderson told The Australian. "The effects happen in non-indigenous communities as well as indigenous communities."

Anderson's campaign rests primarily on the controversial claim that there is a link between pornography and violence. A recent report, commissioned by the Northern Territory government, claimed that abuse existed in all of the 45 remote communities it visited but was unable to quantify the problem, instead suggesting that many abuse cases went unreported.

Under Prime Minister Howard's initiative, hardcore pornography will be completely banned, and any computers that are publicly funded will be ceased and checked for pornography. The sale, possession and transportation of alcohol in the Northern Territory will also be banned. The bans will be enacted for six months, after which the policy would be reviewed, according to the report.

"I think what comes out of this is we are now conceding that there's a problem with this stuff, and frankly I think that all Governments ought to have a long hard look at it again," Anderson told The Australian.

According to the Nationals official website, Mr. Anderson is - surprise, surprise - "a practicing Christian who is very conscious of the need for politicians to keep faith with the community."