Magazine Associated With Peron Found Objectionable

Censor Finds Magazine Associated With Peron Objectionable

A magazine containing writings by controversial American Libertarian and Auckland book shop proprietor Jim Peron has been found by the Censor’s Office to be objectionable. According to New Zealand First leader Winston Peters the magazine, titled Unbound, was also published by Mr Peron.

Mr Peter’s had tabled Unbound in Parliament in late March. Earlier in that month he launched a scathing attack on Mr Peron and the circumstances surrounding Mr Peron’s immigration application. In the course of Mr Peters' attacks on Mr Peron it emerged that ACT Leader Rodney Hide had written a letter to the New Zealand Immigration Service regarding Mr Peron.

Mr Hide’s office has declined to release a full copy of the letter he wrote on Mr Peron’s behalf in 2001 to Scoop.

Mr Hide today taunted the Prime Minister on his web diary for failing to release transcripts of her conversations with Sunday Star-Times staff in 2000:

“I am sure Helen Clark would have no problem with the transcripts being released – I mean she’s sure she’s got nothing to hide…. “

Today when Scoop contacted Mr Hide’s office for comments regarding the Censor’s decision in regard to Unbound we were advised Mr Hide would be making no comment on the matter whatsoever.

The Immigration Service has also turned down a Official Information Act request from Scoop to release Mr Hide's letter on privacy (of Mr Peron's) grounds.

Mr Hide has however disclosed some of the letter he wrote concerning Mr Peron’s immigration status to the Dominion Post. In an article written in early April, Haydon Dewes points out that Mr Hide’s letter is general in tone, however two sentences do traverse Mr Peron’s written work.

According to the Dominion Post article Mr Hide wrote that nothing 'in the voluminous writings’of Mr Peron would indicate positions that would make him unworthy of working and living in New Zealand.

At the time of writing the letter regarding Mr Peron, Mr Hide had never actually met him.

After Mr Peron had moved to New Zealand in 2002, Mr Hide became a Director of Mr Peron’s Libertarian think-tank the Institute for Liberal Values. Mr Hide has also described Mr Peron as a ‘good friend’ in his web diary.

Scoop contacted the Censor’s Office regarding the banning of Unbound magazine.

Spokesperson for the Censors' Office David Wilson explained that Unbound Magazine, Volume 1, Number 4 was found to be objectionable as of May 6 2005. According to Mr Wilson the Censor’s copy of Unbound magazine had been independently obtained by Internal Affairs after Mr Peters had tabled it in Parliament.

The Censor’s classification means that no-one at all can view Unbound, possess it, or show it to anyone else. The Office of the Clerk have yet to make a ruling on what to do with the documents tabled by Mr Peter’s - however when Unbound was requested by Scoop last evening, staff advised that it could not be viewed.

Among the censor’s reasons for declaring Unbound objectionable were that;

- It [Unbound] provides men with a sexual interest in pre-pubescent boys with material that supports and encourages this interest

- The magazine’s content consistently puts forward a view of paedophile relationships as being loving, legitimate and desirable to both men and boys

- The magazine evades any reasons on why society considers such relationships to be exploitative and objective

Unbound was banned because in the Censor’s opinion the magazine was promoting and supporting the exploitation of children and young persons for sexual reasons.

Mr Wilson explained that the decision related to the entire magazine rather than one specific article. What that means is that everything in the magazine is objectionable, however if someone was to tear out a page containing say, an ad for Coke – that by itself may not be objectionable.

Journalists who had received copies of Unbound were advised to get rid of these ASAP, as they would now be technically committing the offence of possession.

“If it is objectionable, they [journalists] are technically committing the offence of possession and some journalists in the press gallery were given it. Parliament recently increased the penalty for that [possession of objectionable material] to five years in prison. If it is found to be objectionable then it is considered to have always been objectionable before the fact it was submitted as well. The advice is to get rid of it as soon as they can,” cautioned Mr Wilson.

Following Mr Peter’s initial Parliamentary attacks on Mr Peron, Mr Hide supported Mr Peron.

Mr Hide had urged Mr Peron to continue with his plans to sell his political books (such as biographies of libertarian doyen Ayn Rand) at the recent ACT Party conference held at Skycity.

Mr Hide wrote on his web diary “I told him [Mr Peron] he would receive our full support.”

After Mr Hide’s failure to give any comment on Mr Peron's latest troubles it is uncertain whether Mr Hide continues to fully support the man he once described as a ‘good friend’.

ENDS

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