Tisch Lindsay: Films Videos and Publications Classification  Amendment Bill — In Committee 
Tisch Lindsay: Films Videos and Publications Classification  Amendment Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:623;Page:18642] 
LINDSAY TISCH (National—Piako) 
: 
 Part 2 is very small and I shall concentrate on two areas. The first is clause 43 which amends a schedule of an Act. 
We note the importance of New Zealand’s requirement to comply with its international obligations under the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children Child Prostitution and Child Pornography. The bill includes provisions that deal with extraterritorial jurisdiction regarding New Zealand citizens extradition and mutual assistance in criminal matters to ensure our compliance with the optional protocol. It is important that we do play our part in the international scene. As is mentioned in the bill the optional protocol was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York on 25 May 2000. 
What does that actually mean? Well it provides for jurisdiction for certain offences that relate to child pornography as defined in the optional protocol. It requires the Attorney-General’s consent to be obtained where jurisdiction is claimed under that provision. And it deems certain offences where they relate to child pornography to be included in extradition treaties. That is a significant international treaty that we have signed up to and it is included under clause 43. 
The other area I want to bring the Committee’s attention to and it has been mentioned before is the penalties that are associated with the offences. Before I go specifically into the offences as per the protocol I want to say the Department of Internal Affairs has provided information on the prosecutions it has been involved in. I note in its memo to the select committee that since 1996 it has successfully prosecuted 139 cases involving objectionable material and currently 125 cases are pending in the District Court. Those figures may be out of date now but the point I make is that the Department of Internal Affairs has a proud reputation. It is internationally recognised for its work and we should be applauding its efforts as it is at the forefront in being able to make prosecutions in being able to use its expertise in monitoring. As I have mentioned in a previous debate I have seen its operations in practice. 
We also have other information from the department that relates to Customs Service and police prosecutions for objectionable material in the period 2000-03. If we look at the 2003 category we see that the Department of Internal Affairs had 26 prosecutions the Customs Service had 12 and the police had 33 bringing the total to 71. My point in the second reading debate was that the Customs Service also has a major part to play it being right at the forefront at our airports ports and seaports where material can come in. It has the ability to seize that material and prosecuting the offences of making distributing copying supplying and possessing such material is part of the work it is involved in. It is able to operate under section 209 of the Customs and Excise Act. So it is at the forefront of providing the protection and the safeguards that we expect and those provisions are included in Part 2. 
The other significant area and it has been mentioned is the penalty regimes that now come in. The penalties for offences under the Films Videos and Publications Classification Act have been strengthened. The Minister of Justice mentioned that they had been increased tenfold. If we look at what other countries are doing we see that the United Kingdom Canada Ireland the United States and Japan have 5 years’ imprisonment for possession.