M.P. challenged by booksellers
The director of the Booksellers’ Association, (Ms Kate Fortune) has criticised the comments made in Parliament by Mr D. M. J. Jones, the junior Government Wlyp. Mr Jones had attacked booksellers “who asked for freedom of speech in the sale of books but in fact only wanted to sell the likes of ‘Penthouse’,” and said that “you would not see books such as the Bible in their shops in the same proportions,” Ms Fortune said.
“Mr Jones is happy, to use the same freedom of speech to inflict his view of ‘Penthouse’ on the community, but his slur on the book trade is offensive; and I challenge him to provide evidence for his unjustified comments which show a lack of re-
sponsibility particularly disturbing in view of his Parliamentary position,” Ms Fortune said. “The Minister of Justice has already had to reprimand Mr Jones for his outspoken criticism of the work of the Indecent Publications Tribunal. It is high time that Mr Jones abandoned his attempts to force his own views on free-thinking adults. “New Zealand booksellers will continue to fight for the freedom of adult citizens to obtain all publications which are approved by the Indecent Publications Tribunal. Mr Jones’s comments simply convey his unsuitability for his self-appointed role as arbiter of community standards,” Ms Fortune said.
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Press, 13 August 1980, Page 23
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222M.P. challenged by booksellers Press, 13 August 1980, Page 23
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