1404
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE
No. 37

DECISION

This is a hard cover book of some 300 pages with an index
and select bibliography. It is published in England by
Macmillan London Ltd. and is sold in the United Kingdom
at £9.95. It sets out a list of editors and contributors of
apparent repute and qualification.

It is not a dictionary in the ordinary sense but is rather
an encyclopaedia with pictures and photographs which
describes and explains almost every facet of human sexuality.

It is obviously a serious and sensible publication which in
a careful and accurate way but with good humour provides
a great deal of information on sexual matters generally.

While some parts of the text and illustrations in isolation
might be considered indecent the book as a whole displays an
honesty of purpose and a dominant effect of instruction and
explanation. Having considered all the matters which the
Tribunal is required to have regard to under section II of the
Act, the Tribunal is of the view that the book deals with sex
in a manner that is not injurious to the public good, and that
in this case there is no need to make any age restriction.

The Tribunal classifies this book as not indecent.

Dated at Wellington this 12th day of April 1979.

LAURENCE M. GREIG, Chairman.

Decision No. 920
Reference No. IND. 21/78

Decision of the Indecent Publications Tribunal

IN the matter of the Indecent Publications Act 1963, and in
the matter of an application by Hutchinson Group (N.Z.)
Ltd. in respect of the book: Delta of Venus; publisher,
W. H. Allen and Co. Ltd.

BEFORE THE INDECENT PUBLICATIONS TRIBUNAL

Messrs. L. M. Greig (chairman), D. M. Wylie, Mrs L.
Edmond, Mrs H. B. Dick.

Hearing: 27 February 1979.

Appearances: Mr Pidgeon for Hutchinson Group.

DECISION

Anais Nin, who died in 1977, was born of mixed Spanish
and French parentage, spent part of her formative years in
the United States and did most of her writing in English. She
lived in France between the two world wars, and returned to
America at the beginning of World War II. She is known for
several novels, poems, and other literary works, and a multi-
volume diary covering some 35 years. She could be described
as a minor literary figure of the 20th century, but of particular
interest to feminists. The stories collected in Delta of Venus
were written in 1940-41, at a time she and a group of her
friends were hard up in New York and had an opportunity to
write frankly erotic stories for the money. In spite of this
genesis, the stories are easily distinguished from run-of-the-mill
pornography by their literary character. This is illustrated
both by the style and by the characterisation of the persons
whose stories they tell: they are real individuals, not simply
puppets who proceed straight from one lurid sexual adventure
to the next. There is certainly frankness in the description of
sexual encounters, and for this reason we place an age
restriction on the book, which should certainly otherwise be
available. The Tribunal classifies Delta of Venus as indecent
in the hands of persons under the age of 16 years.

Dated at Wellington this 12th day of April 1979.

LAURENCE M. GREIG, Chairman.

Decision No. 916
Reference No. IND. 5/79

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
in respect of the books:

1. Swedish Sex Orgy.
2. Swedish Swapping Orgy.
3. Wife Swappers Executive Screw.
4. Swapping Orgy. Publisher: Whitehouse Publishing.
5. Voi, Vol. 4, No. 10. Publisher: Faucrest Ltd.
6. Fiesta, Vol. 11, No. 12. Publisher: Galaxy Publications.

BEFORE THE INDECENT PUBLICATIONS TRIBUNAL

Messrs. L. M. Greig (chairman), D. M. Wylie, Mrs L.
Edmond, Mrs H. B. Dick.

Hearing: 27 February 1979.

Appearances: Mr P. E. Leloir for Customs.

DECISION

These seven magazines were seized by the Customs Department from a private importer. They came before us on a disputed forfeiture.

The first five are similar to other publications considered by the Tribunal on previous occasions and are representative of what is generally called hard core pornography. They are all entirely devoid of any merit and in the most obvious way exploit prurient interest in sex. They are clearly indecent.

The other two magazines are somewhat different but still fall within the category of sex magazines which do not provide the appropriate balance of serious and honest writing to redeem the rest.

The Tribunal classifies each of these seven magazines as indecent.

Dated at Wellington this 12th day of April 1979.

LAURENCE M. GREIG, Chairman.

Decision No. 915
Reference No. IND. 20/78

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
in respect of the books:

1. The Dirty Song Book.
2. Homophile.
3. Men and Their Boy Studs.
4. Sexurbia.
5. Sex Vacations Confidential.
6. Three Partner Sex Acts.
7. The Young Deviates.
8. Male and Female Sexual Deviations.
9. Oral Love.
10. Unusual Sex Acts, Practices, and Perversions.

BEFORE THE INDECENT PUBLICATIONS TRIBUNAL

Messrs. L. M. Greig (chairman), D. M. Wylie, Mrs L.
Edmond, Mrs H. B. Dick.

Hearing: 13 December 1978.

Appearances: Mr P. E. Leloir for Comptroller of Customs.

DECISION

The first seven and the last named books are all similar in
format and have no literary merit. The first named is a
collection of songs similar in content and overall effect as
other song and joke books which the Tribunal has previously
held to be indecent. The others in this group contain numerous
and explicit accounts of sexual encounters.

Each of these books is an example of pornography without
any redeeming feature. The Tribunal finds each of these books
to be indecent.

The remaining two books, Male and Female Sexual Deviations and Oral Love, are somewhat different. Although they
deal with sexual matters and behaviour they do so in a more
serious and restrained manner. Both are similar to Unusual Sex Behaviour and Practices dealt with by the Tribunal in
Decision No. 866. The Tribunal considers therefore that these
two books should be classified similarly with an age restriction.
The Tribunal classifies the books numbered 1 to 7 (inclusive)
and 10 as indecent and the books numbered 8 and 9 as
indecent in the hands of persons under the age of 18 years.

Dated at Wellington this 12th day of April 1979.

LAURENCE M. GREIG, Chairman.

Decision No. 917
Reference No. IND. 14/78

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 following publication: Best Detective Stories; published by Page Publications Pty.

BEFORE THE INDECENT PUBLICATIONS TRIBUNAL

Messrs. L. M. Greig (chairman), D. N. Wylie, Mrs H. B.
Dick, Mrs L. Edmond.

Hearing: 21 November 1978 and 27 February 1979.

Appearances: Mr P. E. Leloir for Comptroller of Customs,
Mr Miller for the publishers.