Children under the age of 13 cannot watch films in the cinema if he or she is not accompanied by an adult, parent or guardian as the Cinematographic Films Amendment Bill has been passed in Parliament.
The Bill replaces the existing film classification with a new classification, introducing category PG to allow a person under the age of 13 to view films when accompanied by an adult, parent or guardian.
It also amends the definition of “adult” by deleting “16 years” and substituting “18 years” so that the definition of adult now reads as a person above the age of 18 years.
According to the Bill, the absence of a Parental Guidance (‘PG’) rating has limited access for children aged 6 to 12 years to films suitable for their viewing and has affected business for the cinema industry.
It says the amendment proposes to introduce the PG rating to accommodate this age group, restore audience access and support the cinema industry.
While opposing the Bill, Opposition MP Alvick Maharaj is questioning the Government if they are putting business before social and moral values when tabling the Bill and says it should be sent to the Parliamentary Committee for proper scrutiny.
He says one of the cinema owners is supporting the amendment of the Constitution and now this Bill being debated and says this is ‘one plus one equals to two’. Maharaj further says we are facing an issue of teenage pregnancies because parents are not willing to talk openly with the children.
He says this should be talked about and this is the reason they brought the age category down from 18 to 16, to safeguard certain portion of the teenage group, so that they can openly sit and see these kinds of things with the family and there can be open discussion.
The Opposition MP also asks how will cinema industry ensure that the person getting a child to watch movies in the cinema is actually a guardian or a parent.
Opposition MP Jone Usamate has raised concerns that the Bill is restricting parental control to the cinema as children watch movies in public places such as in the boat, buses and ferries.
He also says the Bill makes it easier for the companies that run cinemas to be able to get a bit more profit and that is a bit of a danger signal.
In his Right of Reply, Attorney General Graham Leung says while films imported from overseas may come with classification guidelines, these are merely suggestions from distributors.
Leung disagreed to the claim that the Bill was catering to business interests.
He says the primary aim of the Bill was to introduce a PG rating, allowing families to enjoy films together while parents and guardians retain the power to decide if their children should attend a particular movie.
Leung says Fiji is a free and democratic country, where the government does not aim to invade privacy.
While, responding to the concern raised by Usamate about the unregulated viewing of movies on videos in buses and ferries the Attorney General says the current Cinematographic Films Act has become outdated.
He says the amendment sought to update the law to address the modern reality where children can access videos without supervision.
Leung further says the Opposition attempted to link the PG rating with issues of sexual crime and domestic violence but such arguments are an exaggeration and a misunderstanding of the Bill’s true objectives.
He says the Bill was simply a technical amendment designed to introduce a clearer, more structured way to allow children to enjoy films with appropriate supervision.
Minister for Justice Siromi Turaga says the Act lacked a PG rating, which restricted access for children aged 6 to 12 to age-appropriate films.
He says this not only limited viewing options for young audiences, but also negatively impacted the cinema industry business.
Turaga says by explicitly defining the PG category, the amendment aligns the classification regulations with the updated provisions in the Act, ensuring that film exhibitors, parents and audiences clearly understand the new rating system.
He adds it also reinforces parental responsibility in determining suitable content for children while expanding access for age-appropriate films.
The Minister adds the minor amendments to the Bill does not warrant this matter to be referred to the Committee.
Minister for Women, Children and Social Protection Sashi Kiran says the Act has served Fiji for five decades and must now be modernized to reflect the realities of our digital era.
She says there is a need to shift the age restrictions for movie viewing from 16 to 18 to protect children from potentially harmful content by ensuring that they are not exposed to mature themes and depictions before they are deemed emotionally and physically ready.
Kiran says technology has changed the way we create, access, and consume media.
She adds streaming services, social media platforms, and on-demand content have removed traditional barriers exposing our people, including our children, women, and the most vulnerable to an overwhelming volume of information, entertainment, and potential harm.
The Minister says without a thought, children are accessing rated content, and often, parents are not aware that they are sending their children to movies with some rated content.
Kiran says they need to ensure parents know what their children are going to be exposed to, so a PG rating is extremely important.
She says sadly, we are seeing increasing exposure of children to rated content at a young age, and they start exploring the content they watch.
The Minister also highlighted that we are seeing increasing reports of children sexually abusing other children, and this comes from early exposure to such content.
Kiran says we are also seeing reports of children using pornographic materials, and we have to protect our children from harmful content.
The Minister says five out of six children are getting abused, and many parents themselves have suffered abuse, and it's passed down the generations.
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