The Dominion Post (25-26/10/08) reports:

“More people [in New Zealand] took their own lives than died in road crashes in the past year, new coroners’ figures show. In the year to the end of June, 511 suicides were reported to coroners – 1.4 self-inflicted deaths a day…. Chief coroner Judge Neil MacLean said … Raw data about suicides was ‘rather shocking’… [As a comparison] There were 422 road deaths last year.” (See link to full report below).

The Society wants New Zealanders to know the names of the Board members who, by their decision, have released a publication into circulation that advocates for and promotes suicide. The members involved in the decision were: Claudia Elliott (President), Dr Jo Baddeley (Deputy President), Judy Callingham, Judith Fyfe, Dr Ian Lambie, Mark Andersen, Andrea Haines, and Ani Waaka (All were recommended for appointment by the Labour-led government Minister of Internal Affairs). The Board upheld the R18 classification issued earlier by the Chief Censor’s Office.

Reference:

Dominion Post 25-26 October 2008

Suicide toll surpasses road deaths

by Lane Nichols

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4738796a20475.html

The Society was today granted leave by the Secretary of Internal Affairs, Mr Brendan Boyle, to apply to the Film and Literature Board of Review to review the classification of the computer game Grand Theft Auto IV (unedited US version). The game was classified R18 by the Chief Censor’s Office.

The Secretary acknowledges in his decision dated 21 July that he received the Society’s application seeking leave, on 27 May 2008 and states in par 18-20:

“I found no evidence in the application to suggest that it was vexatious … I then considered whether the application for leave was frivolous (trivial, needless or unfounded, or so untenable that it could not succeed) under the Guidelines… I found that the application for leave from the SPCS appeared to be tenable in that it could possibly succeed. The application was therefore not frivolous. It is also my view that the SPCS has established an arguable prima facie case for the application to be considered by the Board.” (Full decision available http://www.dia.govt.nz).

The film “End of the Spear” has had its classification downgraded from R16 to R13 following a successful appeal by the Society against the classification decision issued by the Chief Censor’s Office. The Society contended in its written and oral submisssion to the Board that the nature of the depiction of violence in the film – medium level violence – could not possibly justify an R16 classification. The nine member Film and Literature Board of Review agreed and in a unanimous decision, issued to the Society on Wednesday this week, took the view that 13, 14 and 15 year old children would not be harmed by exposure to the violence which formed only a small part of a compelling Christian message of forgiveness and redemption that is told based on the “true story” of the missionary outreach in the 1950s, to the violent South American Waodani Indian tribe. A revised censor’s note from the Board, alerts viewers to the medium level violence involving tribal warfare that some might find “disturbing”.

This is the second successful appeal by the Society in recent years involving a major Christian film that has led to its classification rating – issued by the Chief Censor’s Office – being downgraded by the Board. The Society made both oral and written submissions to the Board to overturn the R16 classification of Mel Gibson’s blockbuster film “The Passion”, and this led it to being reclassified R15. The applicant in this case was the film’s distributor and the Society opted to take a role as an interested party.

The Society has as one of its six objectives: the promotion of freedom of expression, within the boundaries of good law that safeguards the public good from injury.

The Society is confident that The Peaceful Pill Handbook (New Revised International Edition) co-authored by Dr Phillip Nitschke (dubbed ‘Dr Death’ by the media) will be banned by early next week by the President of the Film and Literature Board of Review, Ms Claudia Elliott, in response to its application for an interim restriction order. The deadline for submissions from interested parties in respect to the Society’s application passed today Friday 13 June at 12.00 pm. (See below for Society’s latest submission).

On 5 June 2008 the Society made an application to the President for an Order under s. 49 of the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 (“the Act”) in respect of the book that was classified R18 by the Chief Censor’s Office on 8 May 2008 (OFLC No. 800267). An earlier version of the book was banned by the Chief Censor’s Office in June 2007.

The Society was granted leave by the Secretary of Internal Affairs, Mr Brendan Boyle on 29 May 2008 to make an application to the Board for a review of the revised book’s classification. It applied for leave on the 11 May 2008.

The Society contends that with the correct application of the Act the revised book should be banned in view of its promotion and encouragement of criminal activity – the aiding and abetting of suicide etc. – and its promotion of a culture of death. It argues that it is in the public interest for a temporary ban to be imposed by the President

until the nine-member Board can complete its review of the Chief Censor’s Office classification.

For More See.

http://www.spcs.org.nz/2008/application-for-interim-restriction-order-against-the-peaceful-pill-handbook-by-dr-death-nitschke/

http://www.spcs.org.nz/2008/review-sought-by-society-over-release-of-pro-euthanasia-book/

______________________________________________________________

The Society for Promotion of Community Standards Inc.

P.O. Box 13-683 Johnsonville

Submission to President of Film & Literature Board of Review, Ms Claudia Elliott, supporting Society’s application for interim restriction order

13 June 2008

Why it is in the public interest to grant an Interim Restriction Order against The Peaceful Pill Handbook (New Revised International Edition).

The Society, having sought legal advice on the matter, contends that its application for an interim restriction order dated 5 June 2008 must be dealt with by the President separately from any other such application and be ruled on before any decision is issued with respect to on any other application(s) for an order. The Society reserves the right under the Films, Videos and Publications Classification Act 1993 (“the Act”), to appeal to the High Court on any question(s) of law, should it be dissatisfied with the decision issued by the president. It intends to strongly contest any refusal to grant an interim restriction order, given the huge risk the release of this book poses to the public good and the strength of its prima facie case, already documented in its successful application for leave to the Secretary, that the book should not be classified R18, but rather should be classified “objectionable”.

The Suicide-Murder of Graeme Wylie and the link to Exit’s founder Dr Nitschke

In a letter dated 11 March 2007, the Chief Censor, Bill Hastings, was informed that Dr Nitschke had recently been questioned by New South Wales Police following the murder of a former Quantas pilot and advanced Alzheimer sufferer, Graeme William Wylie, 71, who was found dead in his Cameray home, on Sydney’s North Shore on 22 March 2006. A Police toxology report found that he had died from an overdose of barbiturate Nembutal, which is not available in Australia. Police charged his de facto wife, Shirley Justins, with murder and family friend Ms Caren Jenning as an accessory before the fact – for assisting his suicide murder.

Jenning joined pro-euthanasia group Exit International in 2003, founded by Dr Nitschke, and admitted that she had deliberately obtained the illegal drug while on a short visit to Mexico, for the purpose of assisting in the suicide-murder. She had learned about Nembutal and how to import it into Australia from America by avoiding detection by customs at the borders, at workshops run in Sydney’s north by the group’s founder, Dr Philip Nitschke. These same instructions on how to commit a crime are mentioned in the edition of Dr Nischke’s Peaceful Pill Handbook that was banned by Mr Hasting’s Office in 2007. The Chief Censor’s Office in New Zealand classified the book as “objectionable”, in part because “in offering instruction how to break the law [assist suicide-murder] and conceal the fact… [it] encourages[s] criminal activity … in terms of s3(3)(d)” of the Act.

“Specifically, these parts of the book instruct in how to smuggle Nembutal into the country without detection, how to manufacture pentobarbital … and how to conceal one’s involvement with the commission of a suicide, exposing one to prosecution under ss113, 116 and 179 of the Crimes Act 1961. The delivery of most of the information by means of first-person testimonials, and the tone of advocacy throughout the publication, contribute to the promotion and encouragement of the criminal activities the book describes in such detail.” (OFLC decision No. 70240 dated 7 June 2007).

The Graham Wylie murder trial (see references in Appendix).

On June 4 2008 The Supreme Court in Sydney heard evidence in the trial of Shirley Justins and Caren Jenning for the murder of Graham Wylie.

The defendants have admitted the following facts:

1. Graham Wylie had advanced dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease
2. His application to Dignitas – a Swiss assisted suicide group – for “an accompanied suicide” was rejected on the grounds that the evidence raised doubt about his competence to consent.
3. Caren Jennings obtained Nembutal from Mexico1 following instructions given by Exit International at workshops she attended.
4. The Nembutal was given by Jennings to Justins who made it available to Graham Wylie to ingest.
5. Jennings and Justins disposed of the glass and bottle which had held the Nembutal.
6. Jennings and Justins took other actions to try to prevent an autopsy or a police investigation.

Regardless of the outcome of the case it is now clear that Nembutal, obtained following Nitschke’s precise “how-to-get” it instructions, has been used in either a murder or an assisted suicide. (Jennings advanced a guilty plea for assisting suicide but the prosecutor rejected the plea to pursue the murder charge).

The Effect of Redactions in the Revised Book

Mr Hayden Swan, Senior Associate of Kensington Swan, the lawyer acting for the importer, Dr Nitschke, wrote in his submission to the Classification Office dated 10 March 2008:

Clearly the redactions have the effect of reducing, rather than emphasising the aspects of the book which were earlier classified objectionable. It is now clear that the book does not fall within the definition of objectionable under section 3(1), nor can it be deemed to be objectionable under section 3(2) of the Act. [Par. 28. Emphasis in italics added].

Here is a clear admission that all that Dr Nitschke has done is reduce some of the more problematic content that he felt the Chief Censor’s Office had highlighted in its 2007 decision that classified the book “objectionable”. The Society readily concedes that redactions have been made to the content of the banned book. However, these have by no means gone far enough. When matters listed in S3(4) of the Act are carefully considered – such as overall impact and dominant effect of the publication as a whole – together with s(3)(3) matters already highlighted by the Society, the case against the revised book remain.

The New Revised International Edition of The Peaceful Pill Handbook still has the directions and instructions for obtaining Nembutal in Tijuana, Mexico, including photos of the bottles with the Spanish labels.

In his letter to the Classification Office dated 10 March 2008, submitted on behalf of the book’s importer, Hayden Wilson, listed all the sections of the banned book that had been redacted in the revised edition (see pp. 1-2, points 8a-l). Based on these detailed disclosures it is apparent, despite Mr Wilson’s claims to the contrary, that some of the material noted above relating to the promotion of criminal activity, has not been fully redacted. A careful examination of the book will confirm this.

Dr Nischke has no qualms about publicly promoting or encouraging criminal activity on his organisation’s website, including the “how-to-get” instructions relating to Nembutal (see PDF files linked to). His Exit seminars promote such activities.

See: International interest in Mexican “Peaceful Pill” 26 May 2008 http://www.exitinternational.net/

The case for the revised book being classified “objectionable” still holds. It does still “instruct in the crime” of importing an illegal substance by ‘explaining’ in a semi-instructional manner/observational narrator style, the first steps of that process – where and how to obtain such a substance notwithstanding that the specifics of advice about how to bring the substance undetected through customs is now blacked out. All headings from the banned book relating to the concealment of crimes are retained in the revised book, creating an overall impact that ‘gives the fingers to’ (as one commentator said) the serious concerns raised by the Chief Censor Bill Hastings that led to he banning of the book in 2007.

If the revised book doesn’t instruct it most certainly promotes assisted suicide and a culture of death. As the classification decision remarks on the revised book – it builds towards promoting Nembutal as the deadly substance of choice. The Wylie trial suggests that the newly revised book – used as an instructional manual in Exit International workshops or as a personal instructional manual – is just as useful for instructing/promoting murder as for suicide.

Dr ‘Death’ as the media refer to Dr Nitschke, has advertised on the Exit International website that he will be holding an Exit seminar on suicide methods at the Kingsgate Hotel, Dunedin City, on 6 July 2008.

See http://www.exitinternational.net/index.php?page=Workshops

Up to the point at which he first learnt that the Society had sought a review of the classification of his revised Peaceful Pill book, he had boasted that his book would be available in bookshops throughout New Zealand at the end of May 2008 and would be available at the seminar. He has now done a U-turn and informed bookshops that it will not be available until sometime shortly after the seminar.

The public interest would be best served by not allowing the circulation/distribution of the revised edition of the book that continues to promotes and encourage criminal activity and fuels a culture of death in this country.

The Chief Censor’s Office stated in its classification decision No. 800267 on the revised book, dated 8 May 2008

Despite the author’s “word of caution” about the book not being intended for “those who are young and irrational or for people who are suffering from psychiatric illness or depression”, there remains a risk of such people reading and being influenced by the contents of the book in making decisions about ending what they may perceive to be legitimate and unendurable suffering. The book’s clinical accounting of meticulously planned suicides by various methods, its sometimes self-congratulatory do-it-yourself ethos and its many photographs and diagrams could appeal to young readers, particularly young teenage men. The notoriety of the book’s principal author and the taboo surrounding the issue of suicide will only add to the book’s appeal for just the readers the author claims it is not intended for. The book may have the effect of making self-inflicted death appear acceptable and even desirable as a means to solve life’s problems for its readers, given its approving and encouraging tone with respect to suicide. The rating of various methods may also encourage such readers to feel that their death can be achieved without undue suffering to themselves, the prospect of which may previously have acted as a deterrent.

This passage provides an obvious basis for a public interest argument in favour of an interim restriction order being granted: the passage deals with categories of people other than those under 18:, including those suffering from psychiatric illnesses or depression. It strongly suggests that some such persons may be more likely to commit suicide and/or assist others to commit suicide if they read this book. It IS in the public interest to NOT allow this book to be distributed in New Zealand until such time as the nine-member Review Board can carefully consider the proper classification for the book and reach a considered opinion.

The category of ADULT “people who are suffering from psychiatric illness or depression” and who remains a risk from “reading and being influenced by the contents of the book” as noted by the OFLC, include those suffering from schizophrenia and related disorders (schizophreniform, delusional, schizoaffective disorders)2, bipolar affective disorders3 and major depression4. Literally tens of thousands of New Zealanders of all ages fit into one or more of these categories. The most vulnerable categories include young men aged 17-24, Maori and our prison population.

It has been widely reported that Exit International has helped over 250 people from Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand get pentobarbital in Mexico over the past few years. And, it boasts that interest is growing in New Zealand because of the forthcoming release of the revised Peaceful Pill Handbook into NZ bookshops.

Euthanasia tourists snap up pet shop drug in Mexico

Reuters | Thursday, 05 June 2008

http://www.stuff.co.nz/4573461a12.html

Dr Phillip Nitschke’s book The Peaceful Pill is being purchased on line and it has become an instrument that aids and abets suicide, promotes a sick new industry “suicide tourism” and creates fear among vulnerable groups who care for elderly loved ones who access this DIY suicide content.

Reuters

DEATH TRIP: Right to die activists are guiding elderly tourists to Mexican pet shops where they can buy over-the-counter sedatives.

As the Reuters report states:

Elderly foreign tourists are tapping Mexican pet shops for a drug used by veterinarians to put cats and dogs to sleep that has become the sedative of choice for euthanasia campaigners.

Tourists from as far as Australia have travelled to Mexico to buy liquid pentobarbital, which causes a painless death in humans in less than an hour, right-to-die advocates say.

Clutching photos of the bottled drug to overcome a lack of Spanish, they have maps sketched by euthanasia activists to locate back-street pet shops and veterinary supply stores near the US border. There they can buy a bottle for $35 to $50, enough for one suicide, no questions asked.

“We have a moral right to a peaceful death. I don’t want to die with a total loss of dignity, incontinent, barely able to see and stand up, suffering as my mother did,” said Bron Norman, a healthy 65-year-old Australian woman who spent $2,860 to fly to Mexico in March to buy pentobarbital.

Used legally across the world to anesthetise and euthanise farm animals and pets, pentobarbital, sometimes known by the trade name Nembutal, is tightly restricted to veterinarians.

But lax regulation in Mexico means it can easily be bought.

Euthanasia campaigners call it “the Mexico option” and say they are willing to travel so far because pentobarbital is one of the few drugs that produces a reliable and tranquil death by sending a person to sleep before shutting down breathing.

“There are few countries in the world where the drug is as readily available as in Mexico,” said Australian doctor Philip Nitschke, who set up pro-euthanasia group Exit International.

Exit International has helped 250 people from Europe, the United States, Australia and New Zealand get pentobarbital in Mexico over the past few years. And, it says, interest is growing.

“You do this trip because you want an insurance policy,” said Michael Irwin, a British euthanasia campaigner and former United Nations medical director who plans to take a dozen Britons to Mexico this year to buy the drug, helped by Exit.

“You make (the trip) in good health so that if you become terminally ill this can guarantee you a quicker exit.”

Foreign buyers usually fly to US border cities and cross over to Tijuana, Nuevo Laredo or Ciudad Juarez, the group says.

A Reuters reporter buying a bottle in Nuevo Laredo was given a range of brands to choose from.

RIGHT TO DIE?

Aging populations in rich nations have sparked a global debate over the legality of euthanasia and the right of terminally ill people to bring forward their own deaths.

Euthanasia is legal only in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the US state of Oregon and doctors in those countries can use pentobarbital to end human lives.

Many Christians around the world oppose so-called mercy killings, saying they go against God’s will.

But the case of Chantal Sebire, a French woman with an uncurable face-distorting tumour, rekindled the pro-euthanasia camp. Sebire was found dead of an overdose in March days after a court rejected her bid for assisted suicide.

In devoutly Catholic Mexico, most terminally ill entrust themselves to family or doctors rather than seek euthanasia.

A Mexican health ministry spokesman said it was working with the agriculture ministry to step up control of veterinary medicines, but declined to give details.

Australian interest in the “Mexico option” grew after the government overruled a state-level euthanasia law in 1997.

The Australian government banned Nitschke’s book, “The Peaceful Pill Handbook,” which gives tips on everything from carbon monoxide to buying pentobarbital in Mexico.

US anti-euthanasia groups also deplore such activism. In the late 1990s, American doctor Jack Kevorkian – dubbed Dr Death – was convicted of second-degree murder and jailed after he helped at least 130 people end their lives.

“We shouldn’t treat people as animals are treated. Every day of life is to be valued as a gift,” said Lori Kehoe of the US-based National Right to Life movement. “Economics are driving the suicide debate. It is cheaper to get rid of someone than to treat them well until the day they die.”

Dr Nitschke caused controversy in New Zealand as the Wikipedia online encyclopedia reports, when he announced plans to accompany eight New Zealanders to Mexico and help them purchase the potentially life-ending drug Nembutal

See: NZ offered Mexican suicide drug trips February 6, 2007 – 6:14AM
http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/NZ-offered-Mexican-suicide-drug-trips/2007/02/06/1170524056505.html

Dr Nitschke has provided advice to others who have ended their lives, mostly notably Nancy Crick, aged 69. On May 22, 2002, Crick, with over a dozen friends and family (but not Nitschke) present, took a lethal dose of barbiturates and went quickly to sleep and died within 20 minutes. Nitschke had suggested Nancy Crick was suffering from a recurrence of her bowel cancer. Most of his criticism for this case came after it was revealed that Nancy Crick was not terminally ill at all.

Dr Nitschke has provided advice about suicide methods to hundreds of vulnerable people, many of whom have ended their lives. Perhaps most notable is Nancy Crick, aged 69. On May 22, 2002, Crick, with over a dozen friends and family (but not Nitschke) present, took a lethal dose of barbiturates and went quickly to sleep and died within 20 minutes. Nitschke had suggested Nancy Crick was suffering from a recurrence of her bowel cancer. Most of his criticism for this case came after it was revealed that Nancy Crick was not terminally ill at all.5

It is not surprising that in 2006 the NZ Medical Council made a complaint to the Ministry of Health about the activities in New Zealand and sought to have him banned from giving medical advice to New Zealanders. Dr Nitschke is registered as a medical doctor in Australia but he has not applied for professional registration in New Zealand. The Medical Council of New Zealand considered that Dr Nitschke was practising medicine when he led workshops on palliative care and had been providing information to New Zealanders about methods of ending one’s life. The relevant statutory provision is section 7 of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003. Section 7(2) of the HPCAA provides that an unqualified person must not claim to be qualified to practise as a health practitioner.6 He is not registered here as a doctor and yet foists his pernicious ‘medical’ advice on suicide methods onto vulnerable elderly people and others. He has no interest whatsoever in seeking improvements to palliative care and has a disdainful attitude towards the compasionate work of caregivers in the hospice movement. His pernicious writings and propaganda breeds a culture of death.

Appendix

References to the Graham Wylie murder trial.

Murder accused: Mexico drug trip for me by Amy Coopes

June 04, 2008 05:48pm

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23810107-29277,00.html

Mercy wife ‘knew of mental impairment’ June 4, 2008 – 12:33PM

http://news.theage.com.au/national/mercy-wife-knew-of-mental-impairment-20080604-2lkl.html

Mercy killing accused was prepared to lie Geesche Jacobsen The Sydney Morning Herald. June 5, 2008

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/mercy-killing-accused-was-prepared-to-lie/2008/06/04/1212258911511.html

Woman denies manipulating euthanised partnerPosted Wed Jun 4, 2008 3:07pm AEST
Updated Wed Jun 4, 2008 4:40pm AEST

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/06/04/2265013.htm

Mercy kill wife admits lies in court By Amy Coopes

ABC News June 03, 2008 05:19pm

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23804632-29277,00.html

Mercy murder-accused admits lies June 5, 2008- 5:23 PM

http://news.theage.com.au/national/mercy-murderaccused-admits-lies-20080605-2m7m.html

The Society for Promotion of Community Standards Incorporated

http://www.spcs.org.nz

A charitable entity registered with the Charities Commission

P.O. Box 13-683 Johnsonville

2 Schizophrenia, schizo affective disorder, schizophreniform disorder and delusional disorder are all major psychotic disorders which share many clinical features in common and share genetic, causative and treatment implications. They differ in terms of their time course (schizophreniform disorder is the same as schizophrenia except that it is of shorter duration) or clinical features (schizoaffective disorder differs from schizophrenia only in having mood disorder components as well psychotic features, and delusional disorder has many similar features to schizophrenia except that the presentation is primarily of delusional beliefs). These are major mental disorders that cause severe disruption to an inmate’s thought process. They are often lifelong illnesses requiring long term psychiatric treatment.

3 These are major mental illnesses where the person suffers extreme mood swings from mania (high energy, no sleep, expansive ideas etc) to depression. These mood swings cause severe disruption to the person’s functioning and require ongoing psychiatric treatment. This is usually a life-long illness.

4 This is a major mental illness where persons experience a profound drop in mood, energy and initiative, often becoming so distressed as to consider or attempt suicide. It is a treatable disorder but episodes of depression are often recurrent throughout life. The potentially serious consequences of untreated depression and the success of treatment make this an important mental illness to identify.

5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Nitschke

6 Ministry of Health Media Release, 2 June 2006. http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/pagesmh/4814?Open

PM – Tuesday, 13 May , 2008  18:46:00

Reporter: Kerri Ritchie

BRENDAN TREMBATH: In New Zealand, right to life groups are outraged at a decision allowing a pro-euthanasia book co-written by Philip Nitschke to be sold in the country.
The Peaceful Pill Handbook was banned in Australia last year, but an edited version has been cleared for sale to New Zealanders over the age of 18.
While opponents are demanding the decision be reviewed, Philip Nitschke is now vowing to make another attempt to get his book into Australian shops.
New Zealand correspondent Kerri Ritchie reports.
KERRI RITCHIE: There in black and white, The Peaceful Pill Handbook outlines ways people can commit suicide.
Philip Nitschke hopes his book will be in New Zealand shops within a fortnight.

You can also listen to the story in REAL AUDIO and WINDOWS MEDIA and MP3 formats.

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2008/s2243906.htm

PHILIP NITSCHKE: We went to great lengths to try and address some of the concerns in the very detailed opinion that had been provided by chief censor Bill Hastings when he’s decided that the first version could not be distributed and we’re pleased that we seem to have addressed those issues.
KERRI RITCHIE: The book was banned in New Zealand last July.
But late last week, the Office of Film and Literature Classification overturned that decision.
Philip Nitschke says his book got the okay after 15 pages were revised and a couple of diagrams were removed.
PHILIP NITSCHKE: That relates particularly to areas where there’s been some concern about the fact that they direct or instruct them how to break the law. The essential material interestingly is still there.
It provides enough material of a practical nature, reliable, accurate and practical nature for people when they get the material that’s in this version to be able to affect a peaceful end of their life at the time of their choosing.
KERRI RITCHIE: The book can now be sold sealed to people over the age of18.
New Zealand’s chief censor Bill Hastings has defended his decision to approve the book, with an R18 classification, saying it was the most he could impose after the law was changed in 2005.
Right to life groups are appalled.
The Society for Promotion of Community Standards has written to the Film and Literature Board of Review demanding the decision be reversed.
Executive director David Lane.
DAVID LANE: Well our main concerns are that this book has the potential to be a pernicious influence amongst those who are vulnerable, particularly young people who have difficulties with relationships and depression who, for whatever reason do consider suicide as a way of opting out of life.
KERRI RITCHIE: He says the publisher has been cunning; getting approval in New Zealand before making another attempt for clearance in Australia.
DAVID LANE: What he’s done is he’s used the services of the chief censor’s office to determine from, shall we say a Kiwi perspective, what are all the phrases and sentences and paragraphs that are problematic and these have all been carefully pinpointed by Mr Bill Hastings, the chief censor.
He’s done the publisher a great service to some extent by clarifying all these and largely at taxpayer’s expense because what the publisher has paid by way of an application fee to get this done is minimal compared to the extent to which the chief censor has carried out his work here.
KERRI RITCHIE: He says the handbook is the last thing New Zealand needs.
DAVID LANE; I know that people say that the concern of the writer is to allow older people to look at their options late in life but when we talk about suicide in New Zealand we are very, very ashamed by the fact that we have one of the worst, if not the worst track records of developed countries.
The number of young people that commit suicide every year is something horrendous. And when this material is readily available through bookshops, it does the rounds, it gets passed around, people are curious, people who are vulnerable get access to this material and we’re keen to see young people who are vulnerable safeguarded from material that is injurious to the public good.
KERRI RITCHIE: Philip Nitschke says he hopes Australia authorities will now re-think their decision to ban the book.
PHILIP NITSCHKE: Obviously it’s a version which has been produced specifically for New Zealand, although we will be of course re-presenting that to the Australian censor now for their consideration after we’ve got the detailed set of reasons as to why it was accepted in New Zealand.
KERRI RITCHIE: Right to life groups say they will call for the shops which stock the book to be publicly shunned.
This is Kerri Ritchie in Auckland reporting for PM.

_______________________________________________________________

This is a transcript from PM. The program is broadcast around Australia at 5:10pm on Radio National and 6:10pm on ABC Local Radio.

You can also listen to the story in REAL AUDIO and WINDOWS MEDIA and MP3 formats.

Mark Colvin presents PM Monday to Friday from 5:10pm on Radio National and 6:10pm on ABC Local Radio. Join Mark for the latest current affairs, wrapping the major stories of each

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The Society for Promotion of Community Standards [SPCS] has written to the Film and Literature Board of Review [see letter below] seeking a review of the decision [web-link below] to approve the book for R18 release.

New Zealand chief censor Bill Hastings says Dr Nitschke’s The Peaceful Pill Handbook is a well-intentioned book for the terminally-ill and elderly.

However, Mr Hastings says several areas have been edited so people do not think suicide is to be taken lightly.

Australian censors banned the book last year.

The society’s executive director, David Lane, says the material breeds a culture of death in New Zealand and is not solely a matter for the chief censor.

Mr Lane says the society is seeking an assurance that those who deal with depressive and suicidal people have been consulted over the release of the book.

He says there will be calls for bookshops to be publicly shunned, should they stock the title.

Posted at 4:12pm on 12 May 2008 on Radio NZ website:

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200805121612/1fbd4b23

Appendix

For classification decision issued by Chief Censor’s Office on the revised Peaceful Pill Handbook,  see:

http://www.censorship.govt.nz/pdfword/peaceful%20pill%20s38.pdf

Letter sent to Secretary:

Additional Comments Relevant to Society’s Proposed Lower Classification of the DVD End of the Spear and Formal Application for Leave.

5 February 2008

Further to the information submitted earlier by fax by the Society to the Secretary of Internal Affairs re the Application for Leave, please add the following:

It has come the attention of the Society today that the Film and Video Labelling Body has now approved a new classification of the film End of the Spear (originally classified on 20/12/07 as R16 by the FVLB by [incorrectly] cross-classifying it with the American DVD version) following a submission for a revised classification from the film’s distributor Life Resources Ltd.

The distributor sent an email to the Society today stating:

“Bill Hood has passed the film with a rating of M Medium Level Violence….”
Lime Light Motion Picture Company
1st Floor 320 Manchester Street
Christchurch (Life Resources Building)
8142 New Zealand

The Society contends that this reclassification should be taken into account by the Secretary in his decision on granting leave to the Society in its application relating to the DVD version classified by the OFLC as R16 (OFLC Ref No. 702607).

A number of films in the Xena Warrior Princess series contain lengthy depictions of “medium level violence” involving the deaths of combatants and injuries and mutilation inflicted on others. These publications have been classified unrestricted – M – recommended for mature audiences 16 years of age and over, by the Film and Video Labelling Body (FVLB). They have not been referred by the FVLB to the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) for classification because nothing in the film has been considered injurious to the public good. The FVLB has given these films description notes: “Contains medium level violence”. These films are all infested with relentless violence, for the purpose of entertainment.

The Console Game Xena Warrior Princess was referred to the OFLC by the FVLB and was classified “Unrestricted: Suitable for mature audiences 16 years of age and over”, with the description note: “Contains violence” (OFLC Decision 9902349). Young people playing this game are exposed to lengthy repetitive sessions of “violence” involving combatants weilding weapons and inflicting grievous bodily harm.

The film Once Were Warriors was classified RP15 by the OFLC which allows any child under 15 years of age to view the film if accompanied by an adult or guardian. The brutal violence and cruelty depicted is recognised as relentless, of high impact and accompanied by vulgar and offensive language. The censor’s description states: “Contains violence”.

The Society (SPCS) contends that, in the light of the above classifications (many others could be cited) to restrict the DVD – End of the Spear – to those persons 16 years of age and over, is an unjustifiably harsh classification that is an assault on the principle of freedom of expression embodied in the Bill of Rights Act.

The harsh classification involves a failure by the OFLC to properly apply Section 3 of the Films, Videos and Publications Classificaton Act 1993. The Society agrees with the OFLC that the overwlelming impact of the film comes from its sensitive depiction of an epic story that highlights the themes of Christian faith, forgiveness, reconciliaton and Christian love. The latter is motivated by the missionaries’ passion to see a tribe on the verge of extinction – through violence – find the truth of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ – which brings peace as one of its many fruits. The depiction of inter-tribal fighting and the murder of the missionaries, is integral to the telling of the true story and none of its presentation is gratuitous.

Kevin Costner’s 1990 epic film Dancing With Wolves which received a number of Oscar nominations, was classified “M” (unrestricted) – suitable for those 16 years of age and over -  by the Film and Video Labelling Body, with the description: “Contains Violence”. This film contains many graphic scenes involving the slaughter of Indians by whitemen, graphic scenes of the mass slaughter of buffaloes and other animals, cruel and brutal slayings of white men by Indians including grapic scenes of scalping and other atrocities. One scene involving mass carnage leaves the river red with blood and human corpses.

If such a film as Dancing With Wolves, of great historical significance, has been made available to NZ young people for cinema viewing and home viewing (DVD and video), then it is very hard to contemplate how the Chief Censor, Bill Hastings, his deputy Nicola McCully, a Classification Officer and a Senior Classification Officer, could possibly have reached the view that the film End of the Spear could possible warrant a R16 classification.

The CO and SCO signed their “actions” off, involving the classification process of this film, on 9/11/07. The SCO affirmed the recommendation on 12/11/07. The CO prepared the documents on 12/11/07 and the SCO/DCC/CC classified and signed the documents on 13/11/07. The DVD version of the film – End of The Spear – was registered as classified on 14/11/07.

The Society believes that many Christian parents and guardians as well as others, familiar with the story behind the film, would be keen to have their children aged 13-15 view the film. Parents are the best persons to assess whether of not their childrren are mature enough to view such a film which has received classifications in the US and Australia allowing those younger that 16 years to view it.

Society for Promotion of Community Standards Inc.

Re: End of the Spear (DVD 113 min 30 sec in length. Classified R16 By Chief Censor’s Office – the Office of Film and Literature Classification [OFLC]).)

The Society contends that the DVD feature End of the Spear, which is virtually identical to the 35 mm cinema version of the film that is currently screening in a number of New Zealand cinemas, should be classified by the Board as an unrestricted publication with a rating “M – Recommended for mature audiences 16 years of age and over.” It should carry a censor’s descriptive note such as: “Contains medium level violence including depictions of tribal warefare”.

The 35 mm version of End of the Spear has recently been reclassified by the New Zealand Film and Video Labelling Body (FVLB) as unrestricted (M: “Contains medium level violence”), – downwards from R16 – following a successful appeal by the distributor who pointed out that it had been wrongly cross-rated by the FVLB with the R16 DVD version. The distributor successfully argued that it should have been cross-rated, by law, with the identical publication classified unrestricted by the Australian censors, NOT the DVD version.

The FVLB therefore acknowledged that it had erroneously classified the 35 mm version as R16 – having erroneously cross-rated it with the DVD version (a different publication based on feature length) that had been classified by the New Zealand Chief Censor’s Office as R16. It is the latter classification (R16) of the DVD publication that the Society, supported by the DVD distributor Manna BookStore, is seeking to have reviewed by the Film and Literature Board of Review.

Concering the DVD publication:

1. This film was classified in the United States as unrestricted and recommended to viewers 13 years or older (PG-13).

2. In Australia the identical publication can be viewed legally by those 15 years of age or older; or those 15 if accompanied by an adult or guardian;

3. The medium level violence is not gratuitous, it is a historical record of low impact, and integral to the storyline.

In terms of s3(1) of the Films, Videos and Publications Classification Act (1993) ["the Act"], the DVD publication deals with matters of cruelty and violence. (See s. 3(3)(a)(i): “the infliction of serious physical harm, or acts of significant cruelty”). However, note that S.3(3)(a)(i) is preceded by the statement:

” In determining, for the purposes of this Act, whether or not any publication … is objectionable … particular weight shall be given to the extent and degree to which, and the manner in which, the publication – (a) describes, depicts, or otherwise deals with – (i) … the infliction of serious physical pain, or acts of significant cruelty.” [Emphasis added].

It is the Society’s contention that if the Board is to place restrictions on this film because of the identification of activities identified under 3(3)(a)(i), it must (“shall” is a legal imperative) place “particular weight” on demonstrating how “the extent and degree to which” each depiction of violence/cruelty, in practice, would constitute the film “objectionable” and “injurious to the public good.”

The Society believes that an R16 age restriction cannot be justified when such factors are considered carefully in the light of the overall Christian message of the film and its context. The task of the filmmaker is to tell a true story in which the martyrdom in 1956 of five young Christian missionaries at the hands of a notorously violent and ruthless tribe is central and do it in a way that the Christian themes of forgiveness and reconciliation are not subverted, overshadowed or corrupted by any hint of gratuitous depiction of violence and/or cruelty. Consequently, it is no surprise that when the filming techniques used, are competently analysed, the methodology used negates any possible gratuitous gain that could be made by any prolongd focus on the actual infliction of bodily harm or cruelty. For example, the searing physical impact of weapon thrusting and bodily penetration is absent, as are all the special effects used by film-makers in films that do depict gratuitous violence. The actual impact of weapons is off-camera and almost all of it is left to the imagination. The infliction of pain and cruelty is therefore largely implied directly or hinted at indirectly.

The barbarous and cruel nature of the Acau Indians is not played down. How can it be? It is an important feature of this documentary. It is revealed in a manner that is sufficiently realistic to make the true story credible and provoking.

Yes, there are a number of depictions of the infliction of serious physical harm and acts of significant cruelty throughout the feature, most of which are carried out by Auca tribesmen and women. The Acau are presented as a violent, cruel and savage tribe, who were almost on the verge of self-annihilation, as they fought not only other tribes, but themselves. The missionaries were passionate about bringing the message of God’s redeeming love in Christ to these people and see the outworking of that message bring peace and reconciliation.

There is a sequence near the beginning of the feature where a group of tribesmen attack other members of the tribe with spears and machetes at night time, while they are sleeping. A male warrior murders a baby in front of the older brother using a machete. The impact of the violence is off-camera and much is left to the imagination. It is medium level violence.

The strongest sequence of violence within the feature is when the five missionaries are slaughtered by a group of tribes people. Christian missionaries Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Jim Elliott, Pete Flemming and Ed McCully — were murdered by a tribe of Indians whose reputation was legendary for its violence.

The strongest depiction is of Steve’s father, Nate being speared to death. He is speared in the upper chest and is then filmed very briefly in close-up from above, as he grasps the spear with his hand. A fleeting image of blood running from the wound over his chest is shown, emphasising that he did not die immediately..

Another fleeting scene implies that a missionary is hacked to death by two women wielding machetes. All the action is implied as the filming is confined to above the women’s waists.

A lot of the violence is implied and the film merely presents the aftermath of it, such as men lying with spears in their bodies.

There is nothing gratuitous about the way the film depicts the violence and it is not dwelt upon at all.

The film which won the Grand Prize for Dramatic Feature at the Heartland Film Festival (2005)
 is clearly intended for mature audiences and should be rated M.

We would urge the Board to reflect upon the following facts:

The DVD Treasure Island directed by Byron Hastin and released in 1950 is based on the famous well-loved story by Robert Louis Stevenson. It has been rated G – for general audiences (unrestricted), in both Australia and New Zealand, and yet it contains acts of serious physical harm and acts of significant cruelty. For example, the late Bobby Driscoll (d. 1968), who plays the leading role of  young Jim Hawkins, is savagely set upon by a treacherous mutineer while he cowers in a perch on top of the mast of a sailing ship. A knife is thrown at Jim by the mutineer at close range with considerable force and peirces his shoulder blade. The excruciating pain is conveyed in close up shots of his grimacing face and blood spills from the wound as he hauls himself in an ungainly manner down from the mast and then staggers across the deck of the ship. Young Jim fires a loaded pistol directly into the face of the attacking mutineer at close range from the crows nest and the camera zooms in on the mutineer’s face and later his body as it plunges to the deck far below, bouncing off the railings on its descent. A number of other scenes depict viscious hand-to-hand combats involving swords and knives with numerous body piercing and blood letting. One scene shows a knife thrown by a sailor at his fellow mutineer and the camera closes in on the point of penetration revealing a gaping wound and gushing blood. The sailor staggers in anguish across the deck before he slumps to the floor, blood oozing from his body.

The Oscar winning film  Dances with Wolves, directed by and starring  Kevin Costner, was rated PG-13 in the USA and M (unrestricted) in both Australia and New Zealand. It contained numerous violent scenes involving “.. the infliction of serious physical harm, or acts of significant cruelty”. It won best picture Oscar for a Western. The blood-thirsty clashes between the Sioux and Pawnee Indians and whitemen are graphically depicted. The scalping of whitemen and the gruesome bloody slaughter and butchering of buffalo are all depicted in sickening close range. In one memorable scene an Indian warrior stranded on his horse in the middle of a river is surrounded and set upon by tomahawk weilding enemy warriors. The soundtrack is overwheming. The river is flushed red with blood and corpses litter the streambed. The violence is not depicted in a gratuitous manner but it has a strong impact on the viewer.

These two examples – one a G-rated film – the other M rated – serve to highlight the point the Society wishes the Board to address. Is the “extent and degree to which, and the manner in which, the publication [End of the Spear]” such that the publication as a whole should be considered “objectionable” to the extent that it be restricted to those 16 years and older. The Society concludes it should not be rated R16. The limited violence is inegral to the historical documentary and is not depicted in any gratuitous manner. A censor’s descriptive note as suggested, is all that is required to a film that should be rated M – like the 35 mm version now screening in NZ cinemas.

The Society is aware of no complaints that have been raised about the scenes depicting tribal violence in this DVD version of the film. The 35 mm cinema version has been screening at a commercial theatre in Otaki, on the Kapiti Coast (“Coehaven”) run by our Society executive member and former preident Grahsam Fox. No complaints have been received by him about this M rated film..

A morals group is calling for a film’s rating to be lowered from R16 so that younger audiences can experience its Christian message.

End of the Spear tells the true story of a group of Christian missionaries speared to death by an Ecuadorian tribe in 1956. The wives and children of the murdered men moved in with the tribe to teach them about God.

An edited cinema version of the film has been rated M (with a violence warning) by the Film and Video Labelling Body and has been shown at Coehaven private theatre in Otaki, Queensgate Sky City in Lower Hutt and several other cinemas nationwide. However, a three-minute-longer version of the film available only on DVD has been rated R16 by the Office of Film and Literature Classification because of its violent content.

David Lane, of the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards, went before the Film and Literature Board of Review to argue the DVD’s rating should be lowered to M – recommended for a mature audience – so that anyone could see it, with a warning that it contained medium-level violence and depictions of tribal warfare.

There were no “significant differences” between the two versions of the film, and the classification office was “playing up” the violent scenes, he said.

The film had themes of forgiveness, peacemaking and redemption and should be seen by a wide audience, he said. The violence was “medium level” and the film did not need to be restricted.

“It’s a film that’s got major appeal for this [under-16] age group. We don’t believe the film has gratuitous violence at all – it’s put in its certain historical context.

“You see a spear being thrown but you don’t see blood spurting from wounds.”
Chief censor Bill Hastings said that, in Australia, the longer version of the film had been classified MA 15+ (restricted to people 15 and over unless accompanied by an adult), and the edited version was rated M.

He was reluctant to comment in detail on the case before the board of review issued its decision, but agreed it was unusual for the society to argue for a film’s rating to be lowered rather than raised.