Vernon Patullo of the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency said there had been no increase in the number of people in communities being prosecuted for possessing pornography since signs announcing a pornography ban were erected as part of the 2007 federal intervention.

Speaking at a Senate inquiry into welfare reforms, Mr Patullo, an East Arnhem Land elder, said the pornography ban was a "beat-up and had no substance at all".

"I have never seen a blue movie in a remote community," Mr Patullo said in Darwin yesterday.

"These signs label people as pedophiles. It has portrayed our men as molesters."

He said the signs were discriminatory because people in remote communities lacked the means to watch pornography, while non-indigenous people in nearby mining towns had access.

Mr Patullo's views form part of NAAJA's submission to the Senate inquiry, which was set up by the Greens to canvas public opinion on proposed welfare reforms and other special measures introduced as part of the federal intervention.

Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin wants to roll back blanket income management, reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act and focus instead on individuals at risk, in a model that could be expanded nationally.

Indigenous groups have told the inquiry that income management should be voluntary, warning that vulnerable groups such as pensioners and victims of domestic violence would be worse off under the changes.

NAAJA fears that by including victims of domestic violence in the category of "vulnerable welfare recipients", people will have less access to money for travel and alternative accommodation.

Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/