THE CENSORSHIP

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 187, 22 May 1941, Page 2

THE CENSORSHIP

RESTRICTIONS HAMPER PRESS. ' '‘BLANKET'' PROHIBITIONS. (P.A.) AUCKLAND, May 21. A reference to the press censorship was made by Sir Cecil Leys, chairman of directors' of. New Zealand Newspapers, Ltd., at the annual meeting of shareholders to-day. “Last year/’ remarked Sir Cecil, “I said it was the duty of the press not only to help to maintain the public morale and stimulate the national effort, but, if it fulfilled its duty, to ventilate abuses from whatever cause they arose, and bring to light slackness on the part of those whose duty it is to work untiringly with the one object in mind, that through the marshalling of. the country’s resources and man-power all shall do their part to the limit of their ability to save our Empire from extinction. “In this mission I am sorry to say that newspapers have been considerably hampered by a timid censorship which has become unnecessarily restrictive. 1 Blanket ’ orders prohibiting the publication of this or that class of information, much of which should rightly be in the hands of the public, are being issued in increasing numbers until there is scarcely an item of war news which can be published without reference to the Censor. No New Zealand newspaper would publish matter which would give information to the enemy not already in his possession or available to him from . a do2en sources, and a grave disservice to the people of the Dominion is committed by a policy of keeping back essential facts.

“One result of this policy is that an erroneous impression of our preparedness for defence can bo created. The people of the Dominion have no proper appreciation of the true state of their home defences nor how grave is the necessity for straining every effort to prepare for an emergency which may arise at any moment. -The easy belief that all we need do is to carry on within the Dominion as if conditions were normal is thus fostered, and flic enthusiasm of the many thousands who were never foolish enough to hold this belief were ready to do their utmost to put the country in a state of preparedness, is, I have reason ito fear, not being maintained. It could be rekindled by- a vigorous ■ campaign in which the real facts were stated, hut these must not be would be giving information to the enemy., Such a policy is utterly wrong. Recasting is Needed. “The censorship system is basically at fault. It gives to one man a monopoly of judgment as to what should he made known; there is no appeal from his decisions as to what shall not be published. 'While it is necessary to have, an authority to whom doubtful matters can be referred for a prompt decision it is just as essential that the authority should have,the assistance of experts to whom to appeal —outside the heads of the Forces, whose invariable reaction is -that as little as possible should become public about anything. , • “Upon at least two occasions newspapers have been told that they must not make investigations' into circumstances surrounding occurrences of direct interest to the Dominion. Such instructions go beyond the censor’s present powers, and from that to absolute control of the pres* is no very great step. I am prohibited from making any reference to the individual matters which the censor has suppressed, but in addition to restrictions upon publicity concerning New Zealand’s efforts, they include a number of matters upon which the widest publicity has been given in other parts of, the Empire. “This is not a criticism of an individual, but of a system. No man, however able, painstaking and industrious, should he expected to exercise such wide powers. The Government should, as an urgent duty, reconsider and recast its censorship policy, and require that, before the issue of orders prohibiting any reference to a subject without the approval of the censor, a limited body of men qualified to judge and advise upon the long-term results tof such restrictions be consulted. In no small degree the debacle of France was due to the public being mislead as to national security purely by suppression of facts. Only the Government have it in their power to remedy this matter, and I am ppsitive that they have no more important duty in connection with the prosecution of New Zealand’s war effort.”