Objection To Nudity (Press, 3 April 1979)

On 3 April 1979, Miss Patricia Bartlett, a representative for the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards, presented submissions to the Broadcasting Tribunal regarding a complaint about full frontal nudity on television. The tribunal decided to reserve its ruling following the hearing. The issue arose from an "Access" programme aired on TV2 at 1 p.m. on 8 October 1978, which was produced by a nudist club and broadcast during children's viewing hours. Bartlett contended that such nudity should be restricted to programmes about primitive native peoples and maintained that all New Zealand-produced content should undergo the same scrutiny as international programmes. Bartlett expressed her offence at the nudity displayed in the programme, arguing it was inappropriate for the audience at that time and could be seen as conflicting with community standards. In response, Mr R. Cornelius, head of information programmes for South Pacific Television, defended the programme by asserting that he saw no fundamental distinction between nudity in primitive cultures and that of European origins. He noted that the programme's total length was 14 minutes, with 2.58 minutes of filmed material, and only 25 seconds of that containing full frontal nudity, which he described as discreet and filmed from a distance. Cornelius added that the viewing audience at that time was primarily adult and relatively small. The controversy highlighted differing perceptions of nudity in the media and its appropriateness in various contexts, especially regarding programming aimed at children.

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