NEWS CENSORSHIP

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 17 October 1942, Page 4

NEWS CENSORSHIP

RECENT STATEMENT BY N.P.A LETTERS READ IN HOUSE From Our Own Parliamentary Report' Wellington. Tins Di The question of censorship ag; j came up in the House of Represen tives yesterday but was not discuss ' The Prime Minister (Mr Fraser) re ' a letter written to the Newspaper P prietors' Association the Director | Publicity, Mr J. T. Paul, and the ie| 1 by the manager of the association, i L. J. Berry. I The director's letter was as folio' ! “With reference to the statement issi ; to the Press by the New Zealand Nei | paper Proprietors’ Association, 1 hj l to request that you be good enough supply me with specific instances nvciicr wartime PPnsorshm. For

misuse of wartime censorship. For | stance, one paragraph in the statem alleges that ’censorship in New Z land has made a steady accumulation restrictions on news of matters such sabotage of production, shortcomings the control of necessaries of life, ministrative mistakes and extravagan that war cannot condone, and a numl of minor, but by no means unimport matters that have their intimate be ing on the war.' Will you tlie ref please .state where any order issued me has prohibited the publication news relating to: (11 Sabotage of p duction: <2) shortcomings in the c trol of necessaries of life: (3) admit trative mistakes: <4 > extravagances t even war cannot condone: «5) any ot of the number of minor but by means unimportant matters that h their intimate bearing on the war.” The reply was: “We have your lei in which you ask for details of ord issued by your prohibiting the pub!: lion of news. There would, of course. n () difficulty in furnishing such det by the quotation in full of official elructions and prohibitions issued you. but in our opinion no good p pose would be served by doing so. 1 purpose of the association's statein was not to promote public investi tion of the administration of the c sorship regulations, but to direct lention to the need for a clear definit of the limits w ithin which the cenj ship of news would be confined. 1 purpose will not be advanced by a < cussioi\ of past events: it would realised by a precise definition of n< which, m the interests of national curity. may not be published, and authoritative undertaking that no j: hibitions would be imposed on news comment outside those definitions. Mr Fraser :>aid he would make comment. He would leave that to public and the House.