POWERS OF CUSTOMS

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30480, 30 June 1964, Page 16

POWERS OF CUSTOMS

Restrictions On Books (From Our Own Reporter) WELLINGTON, June 29. Lists of books restricted or prohibited by the Customs Department are provisional because they are not backed by the Indecent Publications Tribunal. The department has no power to determine that a book is indecent. These points were made by the Attorney-General (Mr Hanan) in reply to a question by Mr W. W. Freer (Opp., Mt. Albert). Mr Hanan’s complete reply was:— “The Customs lists are provisional because they may be altered, and because they do not have the authority of decisions of the Indecent Publications Tribunal.

“The Customs Department is one of the law-enforcing agencies of the Crown and must take the initiative if it has grounds for thinking that a book may be indecent It is sensible, and in the interests of all concerned, that doubts about a book should be resolved at the earliest possible stage. “But I want to make plain that the department has no power to determine that a book is, in fact, indecent. That is a matter for the Indecent Publications Tribunal. There are provisions making it easy to refer a book to the tribunal.”