History of censorship
The history of censorship in New Zealand is a busy and interesting one. It starts early in the 20th Century and involves several different government agencies and a wide array of mediums.
Click on one of the following links to learn more about some milestones in New Zealand censorship. Additional information can be found in the History of Censorship Timeline on our website for students.
- The first movie exhibition in New Zealand
- The Indecent Publications Act
- The first New Zealand censor
- The banning of war films
- The Cinematograph Film Censorship Act 1916
- A system of graded classifications is introduced in the 1920's
- The introduction of sound in movies
- The 1935 Committee of Inquiry
- Comic book trends in the 1930s
- The Second World War imposes further censorship
- Film Censorship in 1957
- The Cinematograph Films Act 1961
- The Indecent Publications Act 1963
- The Cinematograph Films Act 1976
- Ministerial Inquiry into Pornography 1989
For each item, we include references to the source of the information so that you can read more about the topic if you want to.
The first movie exhibition in New Zealand
"...the first movie screening was at the Auckland Opera House on 13 October 1896 when a short programme of 'moving pictures' was projected on an Edison Kinematograph imported from the United States".
The Indecent Publications Act
"The Indecent Publications Act passed in 1910 was not amended until 1954. It incorporated provisions from previous acts, and strengthened the law allowing the searching of premises and the seizure of "indecent" and "obscene" material. All offences involving indecent material were made liable to summary conviction, eliminating the need for expensive jury trials."
The Act did not attempt to define "indecent", but did lay down criteria which "magistrates (sic) should take into account when determining the indecency of material."
The traditional medical concerns remained prominent. The Act deemed indecent "any document or matter which relates or refers ... to any disease affecting the generative organs of either sex, or to the complaint or infirmity arising from or relating to sexual intercourse, or to the prevention or removal of irregularities in menstruation, or to drugs, medicines or appliances, treatment, or methods for procuring abortion or miscarriage or preventing conception".
It was a defence, however, that the work was of "literary, scientific, or artistic merit or importance", and that the act of the accused was not of "an immoral or mischievous tendency". The Act thus spelt out for the first time the distinction between work which was of "literary, scientific, or artistic, merit" and that which was not. The purpose, according to the Attorney General, John Findlay, was to protect the "liberty which improves and ennobles a nation" while removing the "license which degrades."
The first New Zealand censor
The first person to be appointed censor in New Zealand was W. Jolliffe. He was appointed under the Cinematograph Film Censorship Act in 1916. Jolliffe died in office in 1927. He was replaced by his assistant, W.H. Tanner.
The banning of war films
"In March 1916 the Government
introduced war regulations allowing it to ban films about
the war in Europe. These were aimed at films which might
discourage army recruitment by showing the conditions
under which the war was being fought. The screening of
such a film in Timaru, which included shots of the dead
and wounded, appears to have provoked the move."
The Cinematograph Film Censorship Act 1916
"The Cinematograph
Film Censorship Act 1916, passed in August, made it illegal
to show any film which had not first been approved by
a government-appointed censor. Virtually the only directive
given the censor was that no film should be approved which
"in the opinion of the censor, depicts any matter that
is against public order and decency, or the exhibition
of which for any other reason is, in the opinion of the
censor, undesirable in the public interest".
The words "in the opinion of the censor" imparted sweeping
discretionary powers. Film distributors were, however,
given the right to appeal the censor's decision to a three-person
board appointed by the Minister of Internal Affairs. Until
1934, no one could appeal the censor's approval of a film,
however.
The words "undesirable in the public interest" were also
rather sweeping, going beyond the concern with "indecency"
in the other censorship legislation. When questioned in
the house about this clause, the Minister of Internal
Affairs indicated it was specifically included so films
could be censored for political reasons, in particular
their effect on army recruitment.
The 1916 Act also made provision for films to be restricted
to specified classes of persons. This provision was rarely
used before the 1950's, when age restrictions, such as
R16, became common".
A system of graded classifications is introduced in the 1920's
"In 1920 however, a system of recommendary
classifications was introduced. A "U" certificate denoted
that a film was suitable for everyone, while an "A" classification
indicated that a film was considered by the censor to
be suitable for adults only. It was left to parents to
police the censor's recommendations".
"In 1920
the Legislative Council, Parliament's upper house, debated
the need to 'strengthen and make more drastic the censorship
of cine-films ... with the object of eliminating the noxious
elements which are tending to destroy the moral sense
of so many young persons'. The capture of the film market
by Americans, observed the editor of the Manawatu Daily
Times, meant that New Zealand youth were seeing life 'through
the artificial, spurious and meretricious glare of Broadway,
New York' (Editorial, 18 October 1920)
Thus in 1920 a system of classification was introduced,
although these served merely as recommendations and it
was left to parents to police their children's choices.
A 'U' (for 'universal') certificate indicated 'suitable
for everyone', while 'A' indicated 'suitable for adults
only'".
The introduction of sound in movies
"Films became
more sophisticated with the arrival of sound, and were
thus aimed at a more mature audience. In 1930, a record
102 films (3.9 percent of the 2,626 submitted) were banned,
indicating that the censor was taking a cautious approach
to the sound revolution. The introduction of the voluntary
Hays Code in the American industry in 1932 seems to have
made films from that country more acceptable to the censor,
and bannings were rare by the end of the decade."
The 1935 Committee of Inquiry
"In New Zealand in 1935
a Committee of Inquiry into the Motion Picture Industry,
after considering various submissions and evidence on
'the effect of films on juveniles', came down in favour
of the status quo. Its report concluded that 'the censorship
of films is at present carried out in a very satisfactory
manner', and that it was up to 'parental control' to observe
the certificates issued by the censor."
Comic book trends in the 1930s
"Comic books were initially
reprints of newspaper comic strips. During the 1930s,
these became orientated more towards action, violence,
romance and adventure with the likes of Buck Rogers becoming
popular. Action and violence became more predominant from
1937, when comic books started to feature original material,
thus removing the restrictions imposed by the family orientation
of most newspapers. Superheroes such as Batman and Superman
appeared on the scene....
In 1938 a deputation met with the Ministers of Customs
and Education to discuss their concern about comic books.
Later that year several comics were banned under the new
import licensing regulations, which restricted publications
placing "undue emphasis" on sex, obscenity, horror, crime
and cruelty."
The Second World War imposes further censorship
"In
1939, the Labour Government introduced stringent censorship
of newspapers, the post, telegraph, radio, and books.
The Director of Publicity, J.T. Paul, was placed in charge
of press censorship. In April 1940 he announced that he
would suppress all outgoing news "likely to convey a prejudicial
view to overseas countries concerning the National War
effort in New Zealand". Newspapers were forbidden to publish
stories on certain topics without his approval, and he
could prosecute the publishers of any item he judged prejudicial
to the public interest."
Internal mail was selectively censored, and there was
blanket censorship of all other postal communications.
Up to 250 staff were employed to censor letters, including
22 full-time and seven part-time translators. Radio scripts
were previewed by the censor, but there was no need to
censor radio news, which at the time consisted entirely
of summarised newspaper stories. A special Customs Department
committee was set up to examine books; it banned many
political works."
Film Censorship in 1957
The new Film Censorship Regulations (PDF, v7.0, 18kb)which were gazetted last June and which came fully into operation in December are of interest to the public generally, but they should be of very particular interest to teachers, parents, and all others who have any influence over film-going by children. Indeed, it is not too much to say that unless this interest is actively shown, New Zealand’s present system of film censorship could conceivably collapse. For the basis of the system is that primary responsibility for deciding what films should be seen by children is assumed, not by the Government, but by parents and teachers.
The Cinematograph Films Act 1961
"Probably the most
important event in the field of cinematograph films administration
was the enactment of the Cinematograph Films act 1961.
This Act ... consolidated and amended the legislation
relating to cinematograph films and brought into statute
law important matters of principle formerly included in
regulations. The latter relate mainly to film censorship,
theatre licensing, film safety provisions, and the licensing
of projectionists.
The Act liberalises very substantially the provisions
of the law relating to the exhibition of films. Projection
licences, previously required to be held by persons showing
films, have been abolished and exhibitors' licences will
in future be required only by commercial exhibitors....
The functions of the Licensing Authority have been extended.
Among other things it is empowered to ... conduct all
necessary inquiries and investigations with respect to
exhibitor's licences and permits and renters' licences....
One important consequence of the new Act is that as from
1 October 1964 the importation, manufacture, renting,
transportation, and exhibition of highly inflammable film
will be prohibited, thus eliminating the likelihood of
film fires which, for so many years, has been the major
hazard associated with the motion picture industry."
The Indecent Publications Act 1963
"Moves towards
law reform had already begun in 1959, the Government realising
something had to be done about a system which had become
rather unwieldy. The Secretary for Justice called together
representatives from the book trade (libraries, writers,
publishers etc) to form a law review committee. The committee
met four times, the last in April 1962. The result was
a major reform to New Zealand censorship law, the Indecent
Publications Act 1963.
It was originally intended that the law review committee
would help draft amendments to existing legislation. Indeed,
in 1961 the law was amended to allow the censoring of
sound recordings. But eventually it was decided that a
new Act was required.
The result was a highly innovative piece of legislation
which made a dramatic break with the tradition of following
overseas trends ....The main innovation was the establishment
of the Indecent Publications Tribunal. The tribunal became
the arbiter of indecency in books, magazines and sound
recordings."
The Cinematograph Films Act 1976
"When introducing
the 1976 Bill to Parliament, Internal Affairs Minister
Alan Highet made it clear that his intention was to liberalise
film censorship. He hoped, he said, that New Zealand would
"move towards the maturity of attitude whereby the abolition
of censorship for adults can eventually become a reality".
The fundamentals of the Act as they relate to censorship
still stand. Out went the references to "public order
and decency" dating from the 1916 Act. The censor was
required to determine only whether a film "is or
is not likely to be injurious to the public good". In
determining injuriousness to the public good, the censor
was required to take into account a number of specific
criteria. These included:
- the likely effect of the film on its audience;
- its artistic or other merits;
- the way in which the film depicts anti-social behaviour,
cruelty, violence, crime, horror, sex etc;
- the "extent and degree to which the film denigrates
any particular class of the general public by reference
to the colour, race, or ethnic or national origins, the
sex, or the religious beliefs of the members of that class";
- other relevant circumstances, such as likely time and
place of exhibition".
Ministerial Inquiry into Pornography
In late 1987 the Minister of Justice appointed a Committee
of Inquiry into Pornography. The Committee was made
up of three members. The Chairperson, Joanne Morris,
was a law lecturer. The second committee member, Hilary
Haines, came from the Mental Health Foundation, and
the third, Jack Shallcrass, was an educationalist from
Victoria University.
The Committee reported back in December 1988. The Report of the Ministerial Committee of Inquiry made 202 recommendations for change. Click here for a summary of the Committee's report (PDF v7.0, 101kb) published by the Department of Justice in 1989.