CENSORS' POWERS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 171, 22 July 1941, Page 6

CENSORS' POWERS

RULES IN AUSTRALIA FEWER "CUTS" WANTED After consultations with the chief publicity censor, Mr. E. G. Bonney, the Australian Minister for Information, Senator Foil, issued a new set of instructions to all censors last week. The instructions emphasised that the proper approach to censorship was to see not how much could be deleted from an item, but how much could be retained without endangering security, Senator Foil said. "It is my aim to make all concerned exercise every care to see that censorship shall as far as humanly possible exercise irreproachable judgment," Senator Foil added. Some of the new instructions are: "It is easy to run a blue pencil through an article, but wholesale deletions are justified only when the central theme of the statement is subversive and the writer makes rash or dangerous allegations known to be untrue and calculated to hamper the war effort." "Censors must always be nonpartisan. The censor who tries to help a Government by eliminating adverse comment will probably do more harm than good, because any such policy would soon become apparent." "Censorship's job Is to allow criticism provided that the critic does not disclose information publication of which has been specifically prohibited." "Untrue allegations designed to undermine public confidence are dangerous and should be scrutinised from the security point of view. We cannot allow the war effort to be impaired by dangerous cranks or disloyalists."