Censorship denied

Press, 16 January 1980, Page 3

Censorship denied

PA Wellington The Minister of Education (Mr Wellington) denied yesterday that he was setting himself up as censor of the kind of sex-education films which Should be shown in ■New Zealand schools.

He was commenting on his decision earlier this month to ban the purchase of all

films, slides, and tapes dealing with health and social education until the Government makes a decision on the Johnson report.' He said such a decision could be expected sometime this year. He had seen some of the films dealing with “the sensitive areas” with officers of the Education Department before Christmas. Those he had seen dealt with population control, contraception, and human relationships. They had all been bought from overseas. It was not so much the topics the films dealt with as the way they were handled that had concerned him. Apart from in some cases being 13 years old and thus outdated, parts of the films had handled sensitive areas badly or clumsily. Having seen those films it seemed sensible to acquire no more of the same until the Government’s policy in relation to the Johnson report had been decided.

However the purchase did not affect sex-education films or slides already in the National Film Library. Two of the films deal with lesbianism and homosexuality, Mr Wellington said.

The National Gay Rights Coalition said yesterday that Mr Wellington had succumbed to pressure from groups such as the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards and Concerned Parents.