SPCS Calls Minister to replace Board Members

The Society is calling on the new Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon. Rick Barker, to replace all nine members of the Film & Literature Board of Review ["the Board”], including the Governor-General's husband Peter Cartwright. Mr Cartwright’s term of office, along with those of seven other board members, expired 15 months ago on 31 May 2004. Their re-appointment can only be made by his wife, Governor-General, Dame Sylvia Cartwright, on the recommendation of the Minister. The Society points out that in the case of the appointment or reappointment of husband Peter, this involves obvious conflict of interests on the part of his wife. The former Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon. George Hawkins, chose not to reappoint eight of the Board members while he held the ministerial warrant, despite issuing public statements that he had full confidence in them following complaints raised by the Society.

The conflict of interest involving the governor-general has been publicly acknowledged with respect to another statutory appointment involving the Governor-General’s husband. It has been suggested that in this case Rt. Hon. Dame Sian Elias, GNZM, Chief Justice, appointed him to the position, so the government could avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest.

If Mr Cartwright ever needs to be removed from any statutory office by the governor-general on the recommendation of a Minister for his inability to perform the duties of office, bankruptcy, neglect of duty, or misconduct, proved to the satisfaction of the Governor-General; the conflict of interest will become obvious to the general public.

Mr Cartwright, formerly Chair of the Indecent Publications Tribunal and Chair of the Broadcasting Standards Authority, has demonstrated a consistently liberal approach to the censorship of publications containing sexually explicit content and extreme violence. This liberal mindset among Board members has led to a desensitisation of mind, lack of moral discernment and inability to function with the concerns of young persons and children in mind. How could a man answerable to the governor-general, the minister and the NZ public, approve films like "Baise-Moi", "Visitor Q" and "Irreversible" featuring explicit incendiary scenes of brutal rape, necrophilia, corpse mutilation for sexual gratification, incest etc. for adult entertainment? ADVERTISEMENT


The Society challenges the Minister of Internal Affairs or any other MP to publicly defend the Board’s actions in the light of the restrictions established in law under s. 3(2) and s. 3(3) of the Films, Videos and Publications Act 1993 (“the Act”) pertaining to the depiction of sexual violence, necrophilia, incest etc.

Set out below (Appendix) is a copy of letter sent to Mr Rick Barker, Minister of Internal Affairs, Mrs Sandra Goudie, National Party spokesperson for Internal Affairs, Mr Peter Brown, Deputy Leader of NZ First Party, Mr Gordon Copeland, United Future Party, Mr Rodney Hide, Act Party Leader and Mrs Heather Roy, Act Party. It calls for the replacement of every member of the Board by persons of integrity who reflect mainstream New Zealand family values rather than the extremely irresponsible liberal agenda held by