‘community Not Adequately Represented (Press, 18 October 1976)

Miss Patricia Bartlett, an anti-pornography campaigner, expressed concerns regarding the inadequate community representation at hearings of the Indecent Publications Tribunal. In an interview conducted in Hamilton, she highlighted that salaried prosecutors from the Customs Department lacked the enthusiasm of the well-funded defence counsels employed by major book publishers. This disparity, she argued, undermines the community's interests in cases concerning indecent publications. Miss Bartlett pointed out that her organisation, the Society for the Protection of Community Standards, has made multiple attempts to gain party status before the tribunal, which would allow them to call witnesses and cross-examine defence witnesses during hearings involving referred publications. However, their third attempt was recently rejected. The tribunal denied their request, stating that the society was "not a person likely to be affected," which Miss Bartlett found disheartening. She contended that, as an incorporated society with a primary objective of enforcing anti-pornography laws, they should be classified differently from the average individual. The situation leaves groups like hers that lack formal representation with limited options, as they can only submit written statements instead of actively participating in hearings.

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