THE Censorship Office wants the Classification of Public (Censorship) Act 1989 to be amended to give it “more teeth”.
Chief Censor Steven Mala told The National that the legislation was outdated and no longer applicable.
For example, it had no clauses on penalties against people who produced pornographic materials locally, he said.
The penalties for any breach of the Act were “soft” and could not deter offenders, he added.
Mr Mala, who was appointed to the position last year, said they would begin working on the amendments soon with the assistance of an Australian consultant engaged by the Community Development Department.
He said they hoped to have the Bill ready for Parliament next year.
Among other things, the changes will take into consideration the use of new technology.
Mr Mala said the staff would also have to be trained on advanced technology used in producing classified materials, improve on the reporting system and seek more funds.
He said they also needed to fill two positions.
“We were refused to do so by the Treasury Department as the Department of Community Development, which our office comes under, has excess staff,” he said.
“Recently, I had to recruit two people on casual basis because my office was treated as a division of the Department of Community Development by Treasury.
“The Censorship Office is not a division of the Department of Community Development but a statutory agency that reports to the same minister.
“There is a bureaucratic misunderstanding in the functions and the budget is the reflection of such misunderstanding.”
Mr Mala said Minister Dame Carol Kidu had pledged her political support and “we will use available resources to make the changes happen”.
He said with the changes in technology, conduct and taste of the people, the Censorship Office was at the crossroad.
“I know it will not be easy but I want the changes to take place and hope that support will come from the Government and its funding agencies to give us more teeth,” he added.
On the production of pornographic materials in Rabaul as reported by The National, Mr Mala said he was aware of it but that they did not have the capacity to lead the investigations.