A total of 1319 books are banned in New Zealand and a further 728 are age restricted in some way. About one third of these have been listed since 1987. Many are of a sexual nature, deal with violence, horror and crime and might have only
been fully read by one book censor in New Zealand who decided they shouldn't be available to the rest of us. Some of the titles belonging to 'objectionable' or restricted books included Confessions of a Pimp , Horny Housewife , Inside Linda Lovelace
and A Lesbian Happening. It was up to the Office of Film and Literature Classification and the Censorship Compliance Unit to assess books, films, DVDs and even T-shirts and determine whether they should be banned or restricted.
It has to include sex, horror, crime, cruelty or violence in some way for us to ban or restrict it, the office's advisor Michelle Baker said. Items that include offensive language and self harm, risk taking and suicide issues can't be
banned, but could be restricted. Baker said the office hardly reviewed its decisions, unless someone requested it to do so. Books published about homosexuality before it was made legal in 1986 could have been banned at that time and remain so,
unless someone had requested they were reviewed. Books are usually brought to the office's attention by police, customs or the public. The author, publisher, complainant and interested parties are given 14 days to make a submission, while one of
the office's 15 censors started reading the book. Book Censorship Penalties
- A person found possessing an 'objectionable' book can be sentenced to up to five years in prison, or fined up to $50,000.
- A person who exhibited or displayed a banned book can be sentenced to up to 10 years in jail.
- Someone who made
a restricted book available to people under the age of restriction can be fined $10,000 or sentenced to three months' jail, and an organisation could be fined up to $200,000.
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