’deluge' Of Pornography (Press, 28 September 1973)

On 27 September 1973, Miss Patricia Bartlett advocated for a full-time Indecent Publications Tribunal that is less dominated by intellectuals and more representative of community standards. Speaking at a luncheon for approximately 100 women organised by the Rewi Street Kindergarten Association in Te Awamutu, Bartlett expressed her concerns about the challenges faced in regulating the flow of pornographic material entering New Zealand. Her organisation, the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards, had previously requested this change, but their appeals were dismissed by the Government during amendments to the Indecent Publications Act in January 1972. Bartlett highlighted that between December and August of the previous year, the tribunal, composed of five part-time members who also held other full-time positions, had to make 130 decisions regarding indecent publications. She noted that while the country employed four full-time film censors, there was not a single full-time book censor in place. The current composition of the tribunal, she argued, was not adequate, as it lacked members who genuinely understood the public's standards of decency. She critiqued the tribunal's approval of certain books with explicit content involving “bizarre positions of intercourse,” highlighting that censors were not obligated to seek medical professional opinions on such depictions. Bartlett raised concerns about the ambiguous legal definitions surrounding the exhibition of indecent publications, which allowed booksellers and dairies to display restricted material. She cited that in Wellington, it was common for shops to sell books deemed suitable for individuals over 16 that discussed topics such as lesbianism and fetishism, right at the entrance. Additionally, she pointed out that under the current law, a child would need to be caught reading a restricted book to warrant successful prosecution—a situation she lamented, questioning how many parents would consent to their children encountering such materials. Further criticising the media, Bartlett mentioned that newspapers had protested when they were denied comprehensive details of the tribunal's findings. The result of this had been that children in Wellington were gaining access to lists of inappropriate books and the tribunal's rationale for its decisions, published in local newspapers. Overall, Bartlett's address underscored her urgency for reform in the regulation of indecent publications, reflecting concerns over the influence of explicit materials on the community, especially children.

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