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Chief Censor Seeks Third Three-Year Term of Office Society Wants Him Replaced

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Chief Censor Seeks Third Three-Year Term of Office Society Wants Him Replaced Prior to his appointment as Chief Censor, Bill SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF Hastings was Acting Chief Censor (from Jan. COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC. 1999), Deputy Chief Censor (from Dec. 1998), P.O. Box 13-683 JOHNSONVILLE, NZ Deputy President of the Film and Literature Board E-mail [email protected] of Review (1995-98), a part-time examiner for he PATRON: Prof. TV O’Donnell MD FRACP CBE Video Recordings Authority (1994) and a member of the Indecent Publications Tribunal (1990-94). He Newsletter Sept. 2006 Issue 103 and his deputy have been viewing and assessing To join SPCS or make a donation see p. 16 indecent sexually explicit hardcore porn, sadistic Or go on-line www.spcs.org.nz sexual violence, child porn, etc. for over 10 years. In the Society’s view, both censors must be Chief Censor Seeks Third replaced because they have become desensitised to the corrosive and toxic impact of the objectionable Three-Year Term of Office content that pervades the films, videos and DVDs Society Wants Him Replaced they regularly watch and clear (sometimes with cuts) for R18 viewing. McCully and Hastings vigorously dispute this view (see “Desensitisaton” p. 6) and want to hold on to their respective $140,000-plus and $180,000-plus salaries. 4 Earlier this year, in two live interviews with Larry Williams and Mike Yardley on NewstalkZB, the Society secretary David Lane spelt out in great Chief Censor Bill Hastings detail the reasons why the Society wants both (Source: NZ Herald) censors replaced. He was also interviewed on End Zone (Shine Television) by Bob McCroskrie, and Applications for the statutory position of on Prime TV News (31 May) by veteran journalist Chief Censor of Film and Literature, and television commentator Barry Soper, on the currently held by Mr Bill Hastings, closed on same subject. Introducing the Prime TV item, which the 1st of September 2006. 1 Hastings has was replayed on Sky News, Soper highlighted a indicated to the media that he wants to feature article on the Chief Censor in the Express 5 continue on in the job which he has held since magazine, a mouthpiece of the Gay and Lesbian October 1999 . The Society has called on the community, that proclaims: “he’s gay, and his Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. Rick deputy [McCully] is a lesbian”. In it Hastings says: Barker, to replace him and his deputy, Ms Nicola McCully. 2 Hasting’s second three-year “… My staff get a diet of the worst, which is not appointment as Chief Censor expires on the healthy! The vast majority of commercial 18 th of October 2006. McCully’s first three- submissions [over 80% of the material submitted year term of office expired last year on the for classification]…are sexually explicit videos and 16 th of September 2005 and yet she still DVDs [porn]. We also get lots of child porn sent to occupies the position. The Minister has done us…” [The classification of porn is heavily subsidised nothing yet to advertise her position, replace by the NZ tax-payer. See Feature article pages 10-12 ]. 3 her, or renew her contract. Mr Soper appeared very persuaded by the Society’s view that it was time that Hastings was moved on 1 Advertising of the position of Chief Censor ran from from his lucrative job, due to the problem of 12/08/6 to 20/08/06 in the Dominion Post, Sunday desensitisation. The Society points out that both Star Times, New Zealand Herald , and Christchurch Hastings and McCully cleared the films Baise-Moi, Press. Written Question 10763 (2006). National (transl. Fu** Me), Visitor Q and Irreversible for Party MP Sandra Goudie to the Minister of Internal adult viewing, films that were the subject of lengthy Affairs (14/08/06). 2 SPCS Press Release 30/05/06 remain in office under Section 32 of the Crown Entities Call for Chief Censor and Deputy to be replaced Act 2004.” Written Question 10765 (2006). Sandra http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0605/S00340.htm Goudie MP to the Minister of Internal Affairs (14/08/06). 3 “Nicola McCully’s position as Deputy Chief Censor 4 OFLC Annual Report 2005. Note 9, p. 66. has not been formally extended. She continues to 5 Express (10-23 May 2006, pp. 12-13). 1 appeals to the High Court and Court of Appeal, violence. McCully looks on as people are murdered, taken by the Society. 6 Despite containing tortured and maimed. Soft human bodies are set on gratuitous, sadistic and lengthy depictions of fire, exploded by bombs, cut up and eaten. McCully brutal rape, sodomy, necrophilia, incest and might crunch her way through a tangy apple as a extreme graphic violence, both censors allowed young man is slowly and gleefully decapitated. these films to screen in public cinemas and be Other times a cup of tea might wet the whistle studied by tertiary students in media studies during a gruelling group rape scene. A gingernut courses. They have been responsible for the with that? Sure, why not? It’s all in a day’s work for classification for adult viewing (R18) of literally McCully, as New Zealand’s deputy chief censor. hundreds of other misogynistic films, videos and For the last 10 years or so, she has spent her DVDs containing lengthy and explicit depictions working week viewing all manners of distressing of women being sexually demeaned, degraded and depraved things to decide whether we can and dehumanised (sodomy, double penetrations watch them as well. [Emphasis added] etc.). Despite the fact that such depictions that “Censorship . It’s a dirty job ….why would dominate these publications, tend to promote and someone voluntarily sit in a darkened room for support sexual violence and misogynistic days, months, years of their life, watching acts of attitudes, and are against the law, these extreme cruelty, harrowing sexual violence and the desensitised censors persist in allowing this more repulsive ends of the porn spectrum? rising tide of toxic, harmful moral filth to flood the country’s video shops. Growing numbers of “McCully estimates that 80% of her team’s work is vicious sex crimes are being more regularly classifying the kind of sexually explicit DVDs that reported as involving perpetrators who have will end up in sex shops and the “adult” sections of been influenced by an addiction to watching video stores from North Cape to Bluff…. You hard-core porn and explicit sexual violence. might have six hours of sex DVDs to classify, and you have to watch them from beginning to end…. Each censor watches the day’s assigned publication in individual viewing booths… Outside the row of booths is a desk piled with porn DVDs with titles such as Buttman Returns” and All Oral 6…" Hastings and McCully ( OFLC Annual Report) In a report entitled “Watching The Defectives” published in the Sunday Star Times,7 free-lance ……………… ……………… journalist Grant Smithies described the “dirty In a video entitled “Big Boobed Lesbian Cops” , job” Deputy Chief Censor [and her boss] does: typical of the lesbian genre that McCully and Hastings watch and classify R18, aggressive lustful .“IN A typical working week, Nicola McCully lesbians use police batons as dildos (‘sex toys’) in might watch a couple of dozen people having penetrative sex acts reminiscent of the sex crimes sex. Sometimes they might be doing this in twos claimed to have been endured by the Rotorua or threes; other times, there’ll be a roomfull, woman Ms Louise Nichols and dealt with in High going at it like rabbits. Sometimes they might be Court jury trials that have shocked the nation with going at it with rabbits. And if it’s not sex, it’s their gross and sordid details. 6 While the Society failed to get any of these films cut If you wish to join the SPCS or make a or banned it did succeed in winning every Court case donation see p. 16 it mounted resulting in the Board being required to re- examine the films’ classifications de novo . The Court "All that is necessary for the triumph of determined that the Board committed errors of law. evil is that good men do nothing." 7 “Watching The Defectives” published in the Sunday (Edmund Burke) Star Times 13 August 2006, pp. 5-6. Emphasis added. 2 SPCS and Overview of OFLC and The Film & Literature Board of Review Competencies of Chief Censor and Deputy On the 8 th of December 2005 the Society was The Society has been informed in a letter dated invited by the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. the 3 rd October 2006 from Ann Shaw, Acting Rick Barker, to submit nominations for eight Board Manager of Community Policy, Department of positions, held at the time by members whose three Internal Affairs, that: terms of office expired on the 31 st of May 2004. It “The Department of Internal Affairs on behalf of responded to Mr Barker’s invitation in good faith the Minister of Internal Affairs intends to and located 12 persons, all of outstanding character, conduct a performance overview of the Office of with excellent qualifications and skills to do the job Film and Literature Classification.” and who were keen to make a contribution and willing to be nominated to the Board. The names of The overview will include an “analysis of the these people and their CVs were submitted to the performance of the Chief Censor and Deputy Minister via a number of MPs. In total the Minister Chief Censor against the competencies in the received 24 nominations.
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