SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

CRITIC – Otago Uni Students’ Mag – banned by Censor’s Office

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Media Release 1/02/06

In a decision dated 31 January 2006 and signed by the Chief Censor of Film and Literature, Bill Hastings, the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) has ruled that the Otago University Student Association’s Magazine CRITIC TE AROHI (Issue 23, Sept 19, 2005) is “objectionable” in terms of section 3(2)(b) and 3(2)(d) of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 (“the Act”). The Society formally submitted this obscene and offensive publication to the OFLC for classification on the 23rd of September 2005, a few days after it was published by Planet Media Dunedin Ltd. and began to be distributed freely among university students at Otago University. The Commissioner of Police (NZ) and the Drug Rape Trust (NZ) also submitted the magazine for classification.

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Minister says position of Deputy Chief Censor “is not vacant”

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Media Release 31/01/06

In a letter dated 30 January 2006 the Minister of Internal Affairs, the Hon. Rick Barker, has replied to the Society’s questions regarding the positions of Deputy Chief Censor and Chief Censor, currently held respectively by Ms Nicola McCully and Mr Bill Hastings. The Minister’s answers to questions put by the Society’s secretary, on behalf of the executive committee, are highlighted below in bold.

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More On $130,000+ Vacant Censor’s Position

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Media Release 27/01/06

Ms Nicola McCully was appointed to the statutory position of Deputy Chief Censor of Film and Literature on the 17th September 2002 for a period of three years, commencing 1st October 2002. According to the 2003 Annual Report (p. 89) Ms McCully receives a salary package of between $130,00 and $140,000 and the The Chief Censor, Bill Hastings, receives a salary package of between $180,000 and $190,000 (“Total Remuneration and benefits”).

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Inaction on ‘Critic’ case irks Society

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Otago Daily Times
January 10th 2006 pg 4.
By Rebecca Fox
The time it is taking the censor’s office to rule on the September “Offensive Issue” of University of Otago student magazine Critic makes a farce of the process, Society for the Promotion of Community Standards spokesman David Lane says.
The Office of Film and Literature Classification received multiple submissions from the public about the issue, which caused concern over an article on drug rape that was labelled a “how to guide”.

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