5 OCTOBER THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE 2089

No. 540
Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs for a decision in respect of the book For Me And My Friends by David Rottenberg, published by Grove Press Incorporated, New York.

There was no appearance on behalf of the applicant. Mr Campbell appeared on behalf of the importer and made submissions.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

THIS is an unpleasant and unwholesome book. The young people it depicts live in a hopeless world of sexual involvement with each other and their lives are meaningless, frustrated, and empty. In the descriptions of episodes in the youthful “narrator’s” life, there is an indication of some understanding of the difficulties of the young in trying to cope with the growing-up process, but the obsession with sex (and in part drugs) is so great as to make the purpose of the book suspect. Most of the sexual encounters are recounted coarsely and in gross detail, and the dominant effect is an attempt to appeal to prurience.

The Tribunal classifies this book as indecent.

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.

27 September 1972.

No. 541–547
Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs for decisions in respect of the following books: House of Shame by Max Stauffer, The Impossible Transplant by Russ Miller, Journey to Eros by Patrick Doyle, Lament for a Loser by Leonard Sands, The Last Affair by Lyle Forbes, Love him to Death by John Mitchum and One for the Money by Douglas Dean, all published by Greenleaf Classics Incorporated, California.

There was no appearance of the applicant. Mr Campbell appeared on behalf of the importer. No submissions were made.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

THESE seven paperback novels of American origin have a variety of plot and character but share in common a relentless attention to the endless detail of continual sexual encounter—heterosexual, homosexual, lesbian, bisexual. Their air of unreality is matched only by the tedium involved in reading them, and none possesses any redeeming feature which could lead the Tribunal to any other conclusion than to declare them to be indecent.

The Tribunal classifies these books as indecent.

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.

27 September 1972.

No. 548
Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs for a decision in respect of the book Freedom to Love by Phyllis and Eberhard Kronhausen, published by Grove Press Incorporated, New York.

There was no appearance of the applicant nor of the publisher’s representative in New Zealand. Accordingly no submissions were made.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

THIS book consists of the script of a film made by the well-known American husband-and-wife team of sexual psychologists, Phyllis and Eberhard Kronhausen, liberally illustrated with stills from the film. At the end are a series of transcripts of interviews (some with people like Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy, and Kenneth Tynan, the dramatic critic) parts of which were used in the film. The film is a plea for complete sexual freedom. By itself the text would not be objectionable, but the selection of stills and sequences used spoil the total effect and appear often to have been chosen (particularly the cartoons) to arouse prurient interest.

The Tribunal classifies this book as indecent.

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.

27 September 1972.

C

No. 549–550
Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs for decisions in respect of the books Canine Sexualis by W. W. Waine, published by Publishers Export Co. Incorporated, California, and 1001 Ways to Make Love by Tuli Kupferberg, published by Grove Press Incorporated, New York.

There was no appearance of the applicant nor of the publisher’s representatives in New Zealand. Mr Campbell appeared on behalf of the importer of 1001 Ways to Make Love. No submissions were made.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

SECTION 16 of the Act provides that the Tribunal shall announce its decisions and give reasons for them in writing. These two books depict sex in a manner that is injurious to the public good. They warrant no further comment.

The Tribunal classifies these books as indecent.

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.

27 September 1972.

No. 551
Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs for a decision in respect of the book The Screw Reader by Jim Buckley and Al Goldstein, published by Lyle Stuart Incorporated, New York.

There was no appearance of the applicant. Mr Campbell appeared on behalf of the importer and made submissions.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

THIS hardback book is a selection of articles, cartoons, and photographs from an American newspaper called Screw, The Sex Review. If sold in New Zealand it would retail at a price in excess of $13.

The book is written in a racy and flippant style and its contents cover every form of sexual activity and perversion. Many of the photographs, cartoons, and drawings are objectionable and depraved and the same can be said of a large part of the text. Taking into consideration the matters referred to in section II (1) of the Act, the Tribunal is of the opinion that it would be injurious to the public good to allow this book to be freely available.

Mr Campbell informed the Tribunal that the book had not been ordered by his company but he suggested that it might be of interest to clinical psychologists. The Tribunal cannot see any professional value in the book.

The Tribunal classifies this book as indecent.

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.

27 September 1972.

No. 552
Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in the matter of an application by the Comptroller of Customs for a decision in respect of the book They Pose for Profit by Neill Elliott, published by Greenleaf Classics Incorporated, California.

There was no appearance of the applicant. Mr Campbell appeared on behalf of the importer. No submissions were made.

DECISION OF THE TRIBUNAL

THIS paperback book claims to recount case histories of young girls who are attracted to the “big city” to stardom as models, but instead fall into the clutches of sexual perverts and professional pornography racketeers. The cases are sordid and some depraved. The credentials of the writer are not given and there is no evidence of the authenticity of the case histories. The book has nothing to commend it.

The Tribunal classifies this book as indecent.

R. S. V. SIMPSON, Chairman.

27 September 1972.