Liberal legal affairs spokesman called upon the ACT Government yesterday to investigate claims made in The Sydney Morning Herald yesterday alleging US organised crime involvement in the Act adult video industry. The ACT Attorney-General, Terry Connolly, said the Australian Federal Police and National Crime Authority had on-going investigations into organised crime links with adult videos. The ACT and Northern Territory had opted for a legal X-rated (non-violent erotica) video industry because it was harder for it to be infiltrated by organised crime. It also made it less likely for child pornography and unclassified violent pornography to flourish because the legal outlets were open to scrutiny and had a vested interest in staying within the law.
Elsewhere the underground industry made both X-rated and violent pornography available indiscriminately because both were illegal _ they thought they may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb. “”You could find hard-core violent pornography videos within an hour in Sydney or Melbourne; I doubt you could find it here,” he said. Mr Humphries called for a review of probity procedures used in determining the granting of a licence for the operation of an adult video store. Probity checks by the Labor Government had been shown to be defective with Vitab.
“”The use of front people to run these businesses in Canberra to hide the real influence of American criminals is most serious,” he said. The Sydney Morning Herald asserted that a US criminal had gained a large slice of the Australian market while still in a Californian jail cell. Sources close to the industry suggest there has been some bad blood between Canberra operators which may have resulted in the allegations. Other sources suggested illegal operators have a vested interest in making the Canberra legal trade in X-rated videos look bad so legislators will be forced to close it, opening the way for more profitable illegal operations which would include both legal X-rated and illegal unclassified violent pornography. Mr Humphries said, “”Any licensed premises found to be operated by criminal elements, directly or through another party, should be closed down immediately.”