Former Chief Censor Dies

The Office of Film and Literature Classification announced today that former Chief Censor Kathryn Paterson died yesterday in Sydney.

Kathryn Paterson was New Zealand's Chief Censor of Film and Literature from 1994 until she resigned in 1998 to become Director of the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification.

Kathryn was the first Chief Censor to hold office under the new censorship legislation. Before coming to New Zealand, she was a member of the Australian Film Censorship Board, the Manager of the information unit of the Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification and senior researcher with the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal. In the latter role, she was involved in researching community attitudes to broadcasting, including censorship and classification.

Kathryn was concerned that the Classification Office "provide the public with a consistent and open approach" to censorship. Kathryn's integrity, good humour and her passion for the Bill of Rights coupled with her respect for the Classification Act saw her stamp her own unique mark on New Zealand censorship. She will be sadly missed.

ENDS....

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