Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Classification (Publications, Films and Computer Games) Amendment (Industry Self-Classification and Other Measures) Bill 2023. It is a bill that is welcomed by all of us on this side, and it is a bill that hasn't come early enough. I say that because Australian families rely on classification to make informed choices about what they and those in their care watch, read and play. I have grandkids who are very tech savvy—in fact, more so than me—and they play all sorts of games on computers, mobiles et cetera.

The national classification scheme has remained largely untouched since its introduction in 1995, so it hasn't been touched in a number of years. When you think of where we were at with technology in 1995, people would have had a TV in their homes and, for very few, a computer. Maybe a few did, but that was about it. Mobile phones were just starting to ascend, and technology was nowhere near where it is today. Technology has moved at a furious pace. We can now access whatever we want from the internet. We can choose to have pay TV or choose channels that we want. There are a whole range of things, such as mobile phones, that have changed the whole landscape, yet legislation hasn't kept up. That's why this piece of legislation is very important. It's important because it brings us up to date to where we are. As I said, it hasn't been touched since 1995.

I'll start off from the point that this is good legislation. It's legislation that will assist people to make informed choices of what they and those that are in their care are going to watch, play or read. But I still think the most important aspect in this field is parents themselves. This is, in no way, taking away that responsibility. I think the responsibility remains with parents in relation to what their children are watching, reading or playing and to be monitoring it at all times. That's a very important message. No matter what governments do, no matter what we put in place, I think a responsible parent will always keep an eye on what they're doing, playing and watching, and that is very important. I just wanted to get that message out there. Nevertheless, this will make their job a bit easier, in terms of classifications and knowing the guidelines and where and what is suitable for whom.

When you look at this, we haven't kept in pace with the way Australians access their media, gaming et cetera for many years. As I said, 1995 was when we had the last major revamp in this area. What that means is that this threatens the integrity of the scheme and the confidence that Australians have in it as a trusted source of information. So it's important legislation that'll bring some trust back and some guidelines.

We know there have been several reviews, including the Australian Law Reform Commission report of 2012 and the 2020 Review of Australian classification regulation. They found that there are aspects of the old scheme that are no longer fit for purpose. These reviews were a basis for this legislation, but these reviews, as well as calls from the industry itself, have highlighted that reform of the scheme was long overdue. This government is committed to reforming the scheme. As we heard the previous member say, for 10 years nothing was done. We're very proud that within our first year and a bit we are reforming the scheme to ensure that it meets the needs of modern Australia and today's families.

This bill will deliver on some of the key elements of the government's first stage of classification reforms. Specifically, it will expand options for industry to self-classify content to make it easier for content providers, particularly online content providers, to comply with the classification regulations and to reduce classification time frames and costs to business, which is very important. It also provides for appropriate safeguards and oversight by expanding the Classification Board's powers to quality assure and revoke, which is important, where necessary, self-classification decisions, but it expands the exemptions from classification for low-risk cultural content. This is important because it will include films in languages other than English, being distributed through public libraries, that will be classified at the G or PG level as well as content that is displayed by approved cultural institutions as part of routine exhibitions and events. It will improve the efficiency of the classification system by removing the requirement to reclassify material that has already been classified. There's some quirky thing in the legislation where that's currently not the case under the Broadcasting Services Act 1992.

The classification reform process will be a two-stage approach. This stage of the approach will prioritise the immediate first-stage improvements proposed in this bill, which are needed to help put the scheme on the right path forward. It will also enable government to work with key stakeholders to develop more comprehensive second-stage reforms to clarify the purpose and scope of the scheme, establish fit-for-purpose regulatory and governance arrangements, and ensure that classification criteria are aligned with and responsive to evolving community standards and expectations. Those community standards and expectations will evolve as we see cutting-edge technology produce more and more other ways that we can view our media and gaming.

Look at some of the games out there at the moment. The technology that's used is just incredible. I've got a few in my electorate that I've visited that are part of this gaming industry. Some of the content could be very docile—some of the sporting or gaming content that's available in the gaming industry where people are playing either football, soccer or cricket. It takes me back to thinking of what sort of sports we could play without actually playing the sport, and all I can remember is a board game called Test Match, which is a cricket game where you'd flick the players. That's how far we've come from these games to a whole new world of basically being able to play any game or activity you wish through one of these gaming products. So it's important that these are reviewed continuously to keep up with the new technology that's coming out.

When you think about it, we have come a long way in ensuring with this bill that we capture things that weren't captured in the past in previous bills. As I said, technology will be moving very, very fast, and I'm sure that this will not be the last bill that we'll see in years to come as technology moves. What we've got to ensure is that we're in front of technology, instead of leaving a 10-year gap, as we've seen, which hasn't covered many of the new games and the different ways that we view our media.

I commend this bill to the House. I'd hope that every member would be voting for it. It is a good bill, a bill that makes sense, and a bill that gives families and parents the opportunity to rely on classifications so that they can make informed decisions on what they view as a family or what their children are viewing—and that's always a scary point when you think about it. When I see my grandchildren on the computer or whatever, I always get this feeling of, 'What are they doing on there?' and wanting to look over their shoulder continuously.

I'll finish where I started. This legislation is all good. It is a basis and a framework which gives you some guidance. But the most important people are the parents and the family, who should continuously monitor what their children are seeing and what programs they're watching and always have that parental guidance there.

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