Films and Publications Amendment Bill: finalisation

Meeting report

Mr Mukesh Vassen, a Parliamentary Legal Adviser, read out the amendments that were made to the Films and Publications Amendment Bill.

The Chairperson moved for the motion of desirability. The Committee Secretary read out the motion of desirability. The amendments were deemed desirable.

The Chairperson moved for the adoption of the amendments. The amendments were adopted.

Discussion
The Chairperson asked if Members wanted to comment on the amendments.

Mr S Swart (ACDP) stated that even though Clause 19(2) was not the Members’ first option, they understood the constitutional reasons for the amendment from the NCOP. Members fully understood that they needed to be mindful of the public outcry against pornography. They therefore welcomed the other amendments that were inserted to deal with the matter. The Committee had “bent over backwards” to support freedom of the media and press, however people had to understand the importance of dealing with pornography, particularly with child pornography.

The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Mr Malusi Gigaba, thanked all that had helped to shape the legislation. He wanted to express his gratitude to the wide array of stakeholders that helped to shape the policy that the Committee had established through the legislation. This was an extensive amendment and he was happy that it had reached finality. He thought that it would help the government to achieve the two principal goals that were set. They aimed to strengthen governance in the Film and Publication Board and they wanted to enhance the campaign against the violation and abuse of children through both exposure to illicit content and material and through direct abuse in the development of such material and content.

The Ministry was grateful that the Home Affairs Portfolio Committee tried, to the extent that it had, to compromise and accommodate the views of the stakeholders. The Committee tried to accommodate the views without compromising the necessity to protect the children. He indicated that within the legal framework, when it came to the protection of children, the Committee and the Ministry needed to be conservative and take a “hard-line” stance so that children could be protected as much as possible. The campaign for the protection of children did not end with the passing of the legislation. The legislation only enabled people to move in a particular direction. Mr Gigaba wanted to see more motions, speeches and statements made in Parliament that would enhance the campaign in which they were involved. There were many research inputs that were still to be made that would enhance the campaign and the knowledge that government officials had about the extent of the problems in society. More campaigning needed to be done in the public sphere as well as the corporate sphere to protect children. The legislation was one way of doing this. The legislation would put the government in good stead for years to come.

The Chairperson addressed Members, saying that they still had many challenges to face. One of these challenges included working closely with the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) with issues regarding content. The Committee respected ICASA’s independence, however there was a need for further engagement to discuss these issues. The issue of cell phones was another concern, as it was something that was uncontrollable. Most children who had cell phones had access to material that the Committee was trying to prevent them from seeing, such as pornography. This was an area on which the Committee had to focus.

The meeting was adjourned.