Current Senate Enquiries;

INQUIRY INTO THE SEXUALISATION OF CHILDREN IN THE CONTEMPORARY MEDIA ENVIRONMENT

www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/ecita_ctte/sexualisation_of_children/tor.htm

Closing date for submissions is Friday 18 April and the committee will report by 23 June 2008.

ACTION: Make a submission indicating concern at current trends in the media, advertising and marketing and their effect on children. Call for proper regulation to protect children. The Committee invites written submissions from interested individuals and organisations, preferably in electronic form sent by email, to eca.sen@aph.gov.au. The email must include full postal address and contact details.

Possible issues to address:

1) the failure of self-regulation and the harm being done to children and adolescents by unhealthy sexualising imagery and messages in public advertising, in music industry products and in general marketing to children.

2) Public advertising on billboards such as a recent Durex ad, AMI ads or the Lee Jeans Lolita ad are the clearest examples of advertisers abusing the privilege of public space use.

3) Advertising to children through clothing and toys such as Bratz, magazines, films, television and music. Much of this marketing cleverly exploits children's and teens’ anxieties about peer group acceptance.

5) Better education about child and adolescent development and the importance of involved, boundary-setting parents will be advocated. Support for parents ought to be improved and the government can lead by example in this area.

6) The active sexual exploitation of children and teenagers by pornographers on the web, and the need to address this with ISP level filtering and a range of other solutions.

It is hoped that the inquiry receives many submissions to provide quantifiable evidence of the growing anger in the community at the way commercial interests see the developmental vulnerabilities of children and teenagers as opportunities for profits despite mounting evidence that their physical and psychological health is being seriously harmed.

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SENATE INQUIRY INTO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE BROADCASTING CODES OF PRACTICE

The closing date for submissions is Friday 2 May and the Committee is due to report by 9 June 2008. For more information visit: www.aph.gov.au/Senate/Committee/eca_ctte/broadcasting_codes/tor.htm

ACTION: Make a written submission to the Committee preferably in electronic form by email, to eca.sen@aph.gov.au. The email must include full postal address and contact details.

Alternatively, submissions may be sent to The Secretary, Senate Standing Committee on Environment, Communications and the Arts, PO Box 6100 Parliament House, CANBERRA ACT 2600, or faxed to 02 6277 5818.

The terms of reference are set out in italics with some AFA comments below each:

An examination into the effectiveness of the broadcasting codes of  practice operating within the radio and television industry, with particular  reference to:

1. .the frequency and use of coarse and foul language (swearing) in  programs;

2. .the effectiveness of the current classification standards as an  accurate reflection of the content contained in the program;

3. the operation and effectiveness of the complaints process currently  available to members of the public; and

4. any other related matters.

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MATERNITY LEAVE INQUIRY-IMPROVED SUPPORT FOR PARENTS WITH NEWBORN CHILDREN

Submissions are due 2 June 2008 but the Commission asks that you first register your interest in the inquiry.

Full details about terms of reference and key dates and processes are available at www.pc.gov.au/inquiry/parentalsupport.

Register your interest first

The Commission asks that those wishing to make any kind of submission should register their interest by any of the following means:

1. Submitting the online registration of interest form

2. Faxing or mailing the printed registration of interest form (Provided with this Update or obtained as an RTF File, obtainable from the website http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiry/parentalsupport)

3. Email: parentalsupport@pc.gov.au your contact details or phone the Commission.

Pro-family submissions are needed.

Submissions that promote the value and importance of parental care and family care are needed to give the Commission the opportunity to prioritise the real needs of infants and families in this debate.

ACTION: Register your interest first (above). Then make a submission to the Productivity Commission Inquiry. Even short submissions, touching on only some aspects of the issue are valuable. You may wish to describe the importance of choice for families and the value of being able to stay home with your young children (as a mother or father). You may want to talk about the strain placed on parents and children when both parents must work or when mothers are pressured through financial need or career pressure to return to work earlier than desired or to increase their hours of work. You may wish to urge the inquiry to recognise the value of motherhood, breastfeeding, and parental care (as opposed to institutionalised care).

Possible Issues to Address

For more information on the range of concerns you could refer to contact the AFA luke@family.org.au for a copy of the AFA UDPATE (April edition).