MP Peter Breen attributes the multimillion-dollar industry to poorly enforced and rarely updated laws.
“Every adult shop, every sex shop, every secondhand bookshop stocks this material and it is highly illegal,” said Breen.
In Australia, the only pornographic movies that can be purchased must be approved by the Australian Capital Territory first and, even then, the movies can only be purchased by mail order.
It is illegal to sell unapproved hardcore pornography over the counter and punishable by an $11,000 fine or 12 months in jail.
According to Breen, the types of films he found sold include violence and underage actors.
“I find the video entitled ‘Pain’ appalling,” Breen told Parliament. “It depicts a woman and a man chained up with people in masks tattooing them.”
Breen also mentioned a film that instructed viewers on how to properly asphyxiate someone.
“It even shows where to put the hands and what passages to block,” said Breen.
“It is a scandal that the state government would allow this kind of open breach of the law without taking any steps at all to enforce the law,” Breen said.
