Surely a simpler, faster, and safer procedure would be to make initial registration more difficult and subsequent deregistration more speedy.

Amendments recently made to the laws of various Australian States should result in a general improvement in the standard of publications distributed in Australia, and consequently in New Zealand.  On the other hand, this tightening of the law may induce distributors to dump in New Zealand publications for which they have no longer a market in Australia.

A banning, rather than a censorship, of printed matter injurious to children should be the subject of immediate legislation for three reasons: 

  (a) To prevent the Dominion being used as a market to offset any
  trade lost in some Australian States;

  (b) To encourage the efforts of those people who seek to lead
  children through good reading to better things; and

  (c) To let publishers know that the time has passed when
  publications likely to be injurious to the minds of children and
  adolescents may be distributed by them with impunity.

In order to meet the situation, it would be desirable for the Government to promote special legislation along the lines of the Victorian Police Offences (Obscene Publications) Act 1954.

The Victorian legislation is particularly effective since not only does it widen the definition of “indecent” and “obscene”, and enables the police themselves to institute proceedings for breaches of the Act, but it also compels all distributors to be registered.  Then, should a distributor be convicted of an offence, he may be deregistered, and in that case would be unable to distribute any other publication whatever.

Despite frequent reference to distributors dumping objectionable publications on a newsagent or bookseller, who has to accept the bad before he can get the good, the Committee has not received any definite evidence of this practice occurring in New Zealand.

=(2) Films=

The cinema is the only field of entertainment in New Zealand where official supervision in the interest of juveniles is exercised by a public servant with statutory powers.  The Government Film Censor interprets his role chiefly as one of guiding parents.  On occasions he bans a film; more often he makes cuts in films; most often he recommends a restriction of attendance to certain age groups.  The onus is then on parents to follow the censor’s advice, on theatre managers to adhere to his rulings, and on the Government to see that the law is enforced.

It is not part of the censor’s duty to see that his rulings are observed.  A survey taken in 1952 revealed that about one-quarter of all films advertised in the press were advertised with wrong certificates.  Reliance upon such incorrect advertisements therefore deprived parents of the protection which the legislature intended for them.