Book Proposals Attacked (Press, 10 August 1972)

On 9 August 1972, anti-pornography campaigner Miss Patricia Bartlett expressed her concerns regarding the proposals outlined in the Indecent Publications Amendment Bill. In her statement, she highlighted a significant issue regarding the discretion given to the chairman of the Indecent Publications Tribunal, who has the authority to decide whether a book should be prohibited from sale while it is under consideration. Miss Bartlett argued that it would be more logical for any book deemed suspect to automatically be withheld from sale until it has been legally proven not to be indecent. She likened the current situation to attempting to address stream pollution after it has already been contaminated. Miss Bartlett also took issue with a provision in the bill which would allow the chairman to refuse to restrict the sale of a book without providing any reasoning. She described this lack of transparency as "secrecy," especially since the current protocol requires the chairman to provide detailed reasons for decisions to the media. This, she claimed, inadvertently grants free publicity to potentially objectionable books awaiting review by the tribunal. Furthermore, Miss Bartlett expressed disappointment that there were no amendments proposed to prevent the future publication of what she referred to as "obnoxious" books, specifically mentioning "The Little Red School-book." She pointed out that many New Zealanders would be upset by the absence of measures to protect children, as the book was being sold and distributed to young children aged nine to eleven. Miss Bartlett questioned the Attorney-General’s apparent indifference to the concerns raised by parents who had protested against the book's availability. In a separate matter, it was reported that due to the new Western Samoan Citizenship Act, Western Samoans eligible to vote in New Zealand for the upcoming General Election could do so without jeopardising their Western Samoan citizenship. This clarification was provided by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sir Keith Holyoake, which highlighted a significant development for the voting rights of Western Samoans living in New Zealand.

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