So. Geoff Parkes and maybe many of you think that the Queensland law on "sexually explicit material" is stupid. Whether I agree or disagree is irrelevant. The fact is, some of it is illegal, and from the legal advice I have obtained, this includes the ejaculating penis image that Geoff Parkes wanted to include in his work.
The UQ Union is an unincorporated body. This means that "the Union" can’t actually be charged with an offence, or sued. As President of the Union, I am therefore officially the publisher of semper, and officially responsible for all that it contains. The Union constitution indemnifies the Union’s Office Bearers in the conduct of their duties, but only if they have acted honestly and "in good faith". After receiving very clear advice from the Union’s solicitors that the ejaculating penis was illegal, I could not publish it "in good faith". So I made the decision that it had to go.
Had I allowed it to be published, I could have been charged under the Queensland Classification of Publications Act 1991. If Union Council decided to indemnify me (not at all guaranteed), and I were prosecuted, it could cost the Union (ie students) a maximum penalty of $22 500. Would this really be a responsible use of students’ money? On the other hand, if Union Council refused to indemnify me because it decided I had not acted in good faith, I would have to pay that myself. I don’t know if Geoff Parks has a spare $22 500 lying around, but I can tell you now that I do not. This doesn’t make me a fascist dictator, just an impoverished student.
Under the Queensland Act, there is also the possibility that I could face up to 12 months’ jail. Does Geoff, or any student for that matter really expect their Union President to go to jail for them? It’s really easy to make grandiose statements like "I disagree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it" when someone else is the one taking the risk of being charged, fined or imprisoned.
So what I’m saying is that Geoff’s points about the law and the government may have validity, but his assertion that I should have knowingly broken the law is ridiculous. Furthermore I am not even going to dignify his personal attacks on me with a response because they are equally laughable. My advise to all of you who think the law sucks is to tell it to those who can change it. Don’t rant about free speech but expect someone else to take the fall for you by way of a fine or a jail sentence.