Concern about book

Press, 2 March 1977, Page 18

Concern about book

Sir, — New Zealand would be paradise if young people were as innocent, sensible, and obedient as they ought to be, but anyone with eyes open can see that this is not the case. Young people do have sex before marriage, produce illegitimate babies, experiment with homosexuality, and spread V.D. If parents would accept the reality of their children’s lives and tel! them the truth, free of moralising, we might be on the way to something better. “Down Under the Plum Trees" attempts to do this by talking straight in language young people understand. I admire the courage and concern of the authors and publishers of this book and commend it to any parent or teacher who has the foresight to recognise its worth. — Yours, etc.,

O. R. KNOWLES February 27, 1977.

Sir, — If we as New Zealanders can sit quietly by and allow a book as “foul and filthy” as “Down Under the Plum Trees” to be considered as a resource booklet available to. teachers and students then it is a frightful indictment of our society and shows to what depths of appalling apathy we have plunged. How can any book that advocates sodomy, masturbation and homosexuality as normal and non-deviate, and also quite openly encourages law breaking, ever get even so far as the

Tribunal stage? Who do teachers think they are, when they cannot even teach the basics of education (society is the witness), yet set themselves up as experts in sex instruction? Do parents really care about the twisted trends in the education of their children today, or are they interested only in chasing the almighty dollar? — Yours, etc., A. J. and A. A. O'SULLIVAN. March 1, 1977.

Sir, — The executive committee of the Concerned Parents’ Association had ample opportunity to peruse the book “Down Under the Plum Trees” before it appeared before the Indecent Publications Tribunal, one of whose functions is to ensure that harmful material such as this should not be available to children. We do not seek to impose our morality on other people's children through sex education courses in schools, because we believe the home is the place for such education. Neither should Messrs Duff and Waghorne seek to impose their morality on our children in the compulsory State school system. It is important that no parent’s moral teachings be undermined in the classroom: hence the need for regulations governing the material to be used in family life, social or moral education, and a legal right for parents to withdraw their children from such lessons. To date, the Department of Education has refused to make such regulations. — Yours, etc., P. CLEMENTS. Chairman, Executive Committee, Concerned Parnets Association. March 1, 1977.