THE pornography industry’s legal bid to reduce the X-rating given to adult films could open the floodgates to all forms of degrading material becoming readily available, a family group warned today.
AdultShop.com today launched action in the Federal Court in Sydney, arguing films that show intercourse between two consenting adults should carry a rating of R18+, meaning it could legally be sold across Australia.
The online store wants a judicial review of the Classification Review Board’s decision made in October 2006 to classify the film Viva Erotica as X18+.
The law states that for a film to fall under this classification it must contain "real depictions of actual sexual activity … in a way that is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult".
Adultshop.com claims that Viva Erotica and other films of this nature do not offend reasonable adults and the board’s decision does not reflect community standards.
It said an ACNielsen survey commissioned in September 2006 showed only 30 per cent of adults said they were offended by explicit erotic films.
An X-rated film is legally available only in the Northern Territory and the ACT, while an R-rated film is allowed to be sold in any state and can be shown in theatres.
AdultShop.com sells X-rated movies through its website and in its retail store in Darwin.
The Australian Family Association said today the court action was being driven by purely commercial reasons as the company attempted to increase its market share.
Association spokeswoman Angela Conway said AdultShop.com was attempting to undermine 20 years of consultation and debate that led to the X-rating being devised.
She said there was "every likelihood" that certain forms of violent erotica could also come under the R18+ rating.
"Some members of the Australian community are offended by this type of material, so we have to make sure they have a choice and they don’t have to have it in their faces when they walk into a video shop," Ms Conway said.
"There is a risk that (if successful) this case will throw everything up in the air and we’ll go back to the 1980s where we had all sorts of problem with the mixing of porn and violence."
Ms Conway said changing the rating would also have "zero effect" on any black market sales of illegal adult videos.
Federal Court Justice Peter Jacobson adjourned the matter to March 5.