Senator IAN CAMPBELL (Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer) (4:44 PM) —The government supports this amendment which clarifies existing provisions in the bill in relation to the definition of a feature film. The definition of a feature film is intended to ensure that those productions that are produced to the standard expected for cinema or television release are excluded if they are more than 20 minutes in length. Productions made for distribution for viewing by the public directly, for example, DVDs for rental or sale, are included in the definition.

The amendment refers to `sale or rental' where the primary object of the sale or rental is for viewing `without electronic interactive involvement'. These words have been included in order to take account of the fact that whilst DVD films, for example, sometimes include interactive elements, the primary reason for acquisition or rental of the DVD is to view the film, not to experience the electronic interactive elements. This is in contrast to a computer or video game where the primary purpose of acquisition or rental is to interact with the visual material or to play a game. The reference to interactive involvement being electronic ensures that films packaged with instructions for the viewer to use in undertaking some kind of activity in addition to watching, such as is the case with exercise videos, can be included within the definition of feature films.