Meet the new Deputy Chief Censor

This October we’ll be welcoming our new Deputy Chief Censor to the Classification Office.

Rupert Ablett-Hampson joins us from the Ministry of Social Development where he was Chief Legal Advisor. His arrival at the Office comes at an important time, as we navigate new commercial video-on-demand regulations and as the broad media review kicks off. So we thought we’d get to know Rupert a little more!

A self-described “spring chicken”, Rupert, 49, was born in Cardiff, Wales, but moved to Aotearoa in 1981 with his mum and brother where they settled in Dunedin.

After finishing off his Philosophy degree at Otago in 1994, he moved to Wellington to undertake a law degree. Rupert started off in private practice but moved into government positions later on, where he’s stayed. He reflects on a few of the key moments from his career:

“Each of the roles has had its own challenges but there have been some very challenging events - MSD’s legal response to the Christchurch Earthquakes and COVID-19 stand out, responding very quickly to change the way we worked and the services we provided. Also tough was responding to the attack on MSD’s office in Ashburton which resulted in the murder of two staff members. I was responsible for the corporate areas of MSD at the time, including the health and safety function. I think those events were the most challenging for me professionally and personally.”

Rupert currently lives in Wellington with his wife and three teenagers (and cat, Poppy, and dog Reggie!). In fact, his children are one of the key reasons he’s drawn to the Classification Office.

“Like many other New Zealander’s my children now have a phone pretty much glued to them and they all have other devices, computers or tablets. They have access to vast amounts of material, or it is served up to them without their choice. My wife and I had to make decisions about their use of tech (for example screen times or what age social media can be signed up to). As they grow older we have to acknowledge that choices are theirs and trust that they use the tools to make good decisions.”

Rupert is also keen to help tackle the hard issues we face at the office.

“It is an incredibly complex environment that the Classification Office now has to work with. The way the public consumes media, and the nature of that media, has changed so much over a relatively short period of time. I very much admire the work that the office has done recently to draw attention to and address those issues. I thought, what a challenging role and a great opportunity to make a difference!”

Rupert is looking forward to some of the perks of working here, like checking out the latest films. He loves a good supernatural horror - “actually I’m fine with the bad ones too!” he says.

Outside of work and family, lots of his time is occupied by sport, “I’m a big Cardiff City fan and during the season I’ve probably spent part of my weekend watching football. I’ve probably spent another part of the weekend moping around in a grump because of the result of the football!”

Rupert brings with him a wealth of professional and personal experiences that will help lead the Office into the future. We look forward to him joining the team!