NSW:New porn allegations rock NSW parliament

AAP General News (Australia)
12-02-2010
NSW:New porn allegations rock NSW parliament

By Adam Bennett

SYDNEY, Dec 2 AAP - In the latest porn scandal to rock Macquarie Street, an investigation
has found NSW MPs or staff used parliamentary computers to access websites containing
explicit images of young people.

The IT audit by Ernst & Young, made public on Thursday, suggested children may have
been depicted on the nine adult websites accessed from November last year to September
2010.

The investigation was commissioned in the wake of the internet porn revelations which
led to the resignation of ports minister Paul McLeay in September.

Mr McLeay stood down after admitting accessing adult and gambling material on his computer.

On Thursday, Speaker Richard Torbay tabled the Ernst & Young report in the state's
lower house, saying that of the 72 most popular sites accessed on parliamentary computers
over the 10 months, 35 "appear to be adult-related sites".

Nine websites contained sexually explicit images of young people "whose precise age
is reportedly difficult to determine", he said.

Mr Torbay said legal advice was being sought into the report's damaging findings.

"No further comment will be made in respect of this matter so as to not jeopardise
any investigations that may ensue," Mr Torbay told parliament.

No MPs or staff were named in the report which foreshadowed the possibility of criminal
charges being laid.

"If the persons depicted in the images are found to be under the age of 18, it is possible
that contraventions of the Criminal Code Act 1995 may have occurred," the report said.

"If the persons depicted in the images are found to be under the age of 16, it is possible
that contraventions of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) may have occurred.

"Accordingly, you may wish to seek independent legal advice in relation to these issues
and next steps, if any."

The Ernst & Young investigation was sparked by an unauthorised audit of computer usage
in NSW parliament, which revealed gambling and adult sites had been accessed in some MPs'
offices.

Mr McLeay stood down before the details of the initial audit were made public.

It was also revealed the office of Christian Democratic MP Fred Nile had recorded 200,000
suspect hits, which the anti-pornography campaigner defended as being "for research purposes".

Lower house speaker Richard Torbay and Upper house president Amanda Fazio at the time
described the unofficial audit as unreliable, and commissioned the Ernst & Young report.

The report tabled on Thursday also found 210,000 hits were made on sites categorised
'Swimsuit/Lingerie/Model'.

AAP ab/klm/msk/cdh

KEYWORD: PORN NSW WRAP

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