Global InformationList of books banned in New Zealand information
Book censorship has existed in New Zealand since the colonial period. Initially the majority of book censorship was carried out by the Customs Department, which had the authority to refuse entry to books considered indecent. As time went on more branches of government became involved with book censorship including the police, Post Office, courts, Executive Council, Cabinet, and the Department of Justice.
During the First and Second World War, there was significant censorship of literature considered seditious or otherwise contrary to the war effort. In 1963 the book censorship system was reformed. All previous restrictions on books were lifted and the Indecent Publications Tribunal was created, the first organization in New Zealand whose primary purpose was book censorship.[1] Before this, there was no requirement for lists of banned books to be made public. By the end of the 1960s, the Tribunal had banned three books and almost 3000 comics and magazines.[2]
The Indecent Publications Tribunal's treatment of homosexuality changed significantly as a result of the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986. Before the Act, many books were banned solely on the basis that because consensual sex between men was a criminal offence in New Zealand, any publication that dealt with homosexuality was dealing with crime and was therefore indecent.[3]
The Indecent Publications Tribunal was replaced by the Office of Film and Literature Classification in 1994 when the censorship system was reformed.[4] Classifications given to books by the Indecent Publications Tribunal remain in effect unless they have been re-classified since.[5]
As of September 2011[update], 1319 books have been banned and an additional 728 have been restricted in some way. More than two-thirds of banned or restricted books were classified before 1987.[6]
This article contains lists of books, comics, librettos, and pamphlets that have had legal restrictions on importation, sale, possession, or exhibition in New Zealand.
- ^ Baker 2010, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Baker 2010, p. 8.
- ^ Decision No. 145/93 (Report). Indecent Publications Tribunal. 17 December 1993.
The treatment by the Tribunal of books dealing with homosexual activity or containing material about homosexuality changed markedly as a consequence of the decriminalisation of adult homosexual conduct. [...] Before the passage of the Homosexual Law Reform Act 1986, many books of non-erotic character were classified by the Tribunal as indecent merely on the basis that they were intended for a homosexual market or that since homosexual acts were criminal offences, any matter dealing with them was dealing with crime and indecent on that basis.
- ^ Baker 2010, p. 13.
- ^ Michelle (2 October 2015). "From The Butcher Shop to Into the River – the history of book censorship in New Zealand". Office of Film and Literature Classification. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
- ^ Michelle, Cooke (22 September 2011). "More than 1300 books banned by censor". Stuff. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020. Retrieved 23 July 2020.