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Child porn alarm at NSW parliament

Nine websites contained sexually explicit images of young people, report finds

MPs or their staff accessed nine sites containing sexually explicit images of young people on their NSW parliamentary computers, an independent investigation has found.

And there is a suggestion children may have been depicted on the sites.

The Ernst & Young report was commissioned in the wake of the internet porn scandal which led to the resignation of ports minister Paul McLeay at the beginning of September.

The report, tabled in the state's lower house on Thursday, says that of the 72 most popular sites accessed on parliamentary computers over a 10-month period, 35 "appear to be adult related sites".

Nine websites contained sexually explicit images of young people, the report said.

"If the persons depicted in the images are found to be under the age of 18, it is possible that contraventions of the Criminal Code Act 1995 may have occurred," it said.

"If the persons depicted in the images are found to be under the age of 16, it is possible that contraventions of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW) may have occurred.

"Accordingly, you may wish to seek independent legal advice in relation to these issues and next steps, if any."

Internet usage was studied for the period between November 7, 2009, and September 6 this year.

No MPs or staff were named in the report.

An unauthorised audit of computer usage in NSW parliament in September revealed that gambling and adult websites had been accessed in the offices of some MPs.

Before the details of the audit were made public, Mr McLeay stood down, admitting he'd accessed such material on his computer.

It was also revealed the office of Christian Democratic MP Fred Nile had recorded 200,000 suspect hits, which the anti-pornography campaigner defended as being "for research purposes".

Lower house speaker Richard Torbay and Upper house president Amanda Fazio at the time described the unofficial audit as unreliable, and commissioned the Ernst & Young report.

Comment was being sought from both Mr Torbay and Ms Fazio.

Mr Torbay said in a statement the report's findings would be addressed "as a matter of priority".

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