Bill Hastings
Encyclopedia
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's tenth Chief Censor, from October 1999 to July 2010. He is currently a District Court Judge and Chair of the Immigration and Protection Tribunal.
Biography
Born in Scarborough, OntarioScarborough, Ontario
Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, he attended Lord Roberts Public School, graduated from Midland Avenue Collegiate Institute
Midland Avenue Collegiate Institute
Midland Avenue Collegiate Institute was a public high school in Scarborough, Ontario. It opened in 1962 for the then Scarborough Board of Education and later under the Toronto District School Board. The school is large and typical of high schools built in the baby boom generation of the 1950s and...
, holds a BA from the University of Trinity College
University of Trinity College
The University of Trinity College, informally referred to as Trin, is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Trinity was intended by Strachan as a college of strong Anglican alignment, after the University of Toronto severed its ties with the Church of...
, University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
, law degrees from Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School
Osgoode Hall Law School is a Canadian law school, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with York University. Named after the first Chief Justice of Ontario, William Osgoode, the law school was established by The Law Society of Upper Canada in 1889 and was the only accredited law...
and the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, and was a practising barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
. He moved to New Zealand in 1985. Before becoming Chief Censor, he was Deputy and Acting Chief Censor from December 1998 to October 1999, Senior Lecturer in Law (teaching Legal System and International Law
International law
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
), Deputy Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of Law, and a member of the governing Council, at Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
. He was also briefly the Video Recordings Authority in 1994, a member of the Indecent Publications Tribunal from 1990 to 1994 and Deputy President of the Film and Literature Board of Review from 1995 to 1998. In 2010 he stood down as Chief Censor when he became a District Court Judge and Chair of the Immigration and Protection Tribunal.
Role as Chief Censor
In 1998, he was appointed Deputy Chief Censor at the Office of Film and Literature ClassificationOffice of Film and Literature Classification (New Zealand)
The Office of Film and Literature Classification is the government agency in New Zealand that is responsible for classification of all films, videos, publications, and some video games in New Zealand...
by the Governor-General of New Zealand
Governor-General of New Zealand
The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand . The Governor-General acts as the Queen's vice-regal representative in New Zealand and is often viewed as the de facto head of state....
on the recommendation of the Jenny Shipley
Jenny Shipley
Dame Jenny Shipley, DNZM , served as the 36th Prime Minister of New Zealand from December 1997 to December 1999, the first woman to hold this office and the first, and to date only, woman to serve as parliamentary leader of the National Party of New Zealand.-Early life:Shipley was born as Jennifer...
-led National coalition government. In 1999, he was appointed Chief by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Helen Clark
Helen Clark
Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...
-led Labour coalition government for a three-year term in 1999, a one-year term in 2002, another three-year term in 2003 and a third three-year term late in 2006.
In 2002, Hastings appeared in the public eye when he made censorship decisions on highly controversial films, particularly Baise-moi
Baise-moi
Baise-moi is a French film co-directed by Virginie Despentes and Coralie Trinh Thi, released in 2000. It is based on the novel by Despentes, first published in 1999. The film received intense media coverage because of its graphic mix of violence and explicit sex scenes...
and Visitor Q
Visitor Q
is a controversial 2001 film directed by Japanese director Takashi Miike. It was filmed as the sixth and final part of the Love Cinema series consisting of six straight-to-video releases by independent filmmakers via a brief but exclusive run at the minuscule Shimokitazawa cinema in Tokyo...
, both of which were scheduled for screening at the Beck's Incredible Film Festival. In 2003, Hastings again appeared in the public eye when the computer game Manhunt
Manhunt (video game)
Manhunt is a stealth game developed by Rockstar Games. It was released to the public on November 18, 2003 for the PlayStation 2 console, and on April 20, 2004 for Xbox and PC. Although it was generally well-received by critics, Manhunt created a controversy due to the graphic violence the player...
was banned by his office, making its possession in New Zealand illegal. Following a meeting in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
on December 22, 2003 between Hastings and officials from the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Business Services, Manhunt became the first computer game in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
to be classified as a film and restricted to adults in February 2004.
The Society for the Promotion of Community Standards
Society for the Promotion of Community Standards
The Society for the Promotion of Community Standards is a conservative Christian-dominated organisation in New Zealand. The Society's objectives include the encouragement of "self-respect and the dignity of the human person, made in the image of God", the "recognition of the sanctity of human life...
in particular has accused Hastings of being a "gay activist" promoting homosexuality and promiscuity by giving too liberal classifications to films. This estimation is contradicted by examination of the appeals against classifications; the Film and Literature Board of Review found classifications too liberal in only 3.5% of cases under Hastings - in contrast to 27% under his predecessor, Kathryn Paterson
Kathryn Paterson
Kathryn Paterson was raised in the sea-side town of Umina, north of Sydney, Australia, the daughter of June, a teacher, and Phil Paterson, a pharmacist....
- and has upheld 82% of OFLC decisions made under Hastings.
Apart from his professional role, some have taken issue with one aspect of his personal life in particular: Hastings is openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
homosexual. Some of these critics include the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards
Society for the Promotion of Community Standards
The Society for the Promotion of Community Standards is a conservative Christian-dominated organisation in New Zealand. The Society's objectives include the encouragement of "self-respect and the dignity of the human person, made in the image of God", the "recognition of the sanctity of human life...
; convicted paedophile Graham Capill
Graham Capill
Graham John Capill is a former New Zealand Christian leader and politician. He served as the first leader of the now-defunct Christian Heritage Party, stepping down in 2003. In 2005 he was convicted of multiple sexual offences against girls under 12 years of age and sentenced to nine years...
, former Leader of the Christian Heritage Party; Brian Tamaki
Brian Tamaki
Brian Raymond Tamaki heads Destiny Church, a Pentecostal Christian organisation in New Zealand which advocates strict adherence to fundamentalist biblical morality, and is notable for its position against homosexuality, its patriarchal views and for its calls for a return to biblical conservative...
in the "Media: The New Witchcraft" section of a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
produced by the Destiny Church
Destiny Church
Destiny Church may refer to:*Destiny Church Groningen, a network of churches based in the Netherlands and South America*Destiny Church , a network of churches based in New Zealand...
for the 2005 general election
New Zealand general election, 2005
The 2005 New Zealand general election held on 17 September 2005 determined the composition of the 48th New Zealand Parliament. No party won a majority in the unicameral House of Representatives, but the Labour Party of Prime Minister Helen Clark secured two more seats than nearest rival, the...
; Peter Brown MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, Deputy Leader of the New Zealand First
New Zealand First
New Zealand First is a political party in New Zealand that was founded in 1993, following party founder Winston Peters' resignation from the National Party in 1992...
Party; and Pastor Ralph Ovadal
Ralph Ovadal
Ralph Ovadal is the pastor of Pilgrims Covenant Church in Monroe, Wisconsin. He is a Reformed Baptist, although his church is not part of any formally recognized denomination. He is noted for impassioned street preaching and picketing in various cities...
's Pilgrims Covenant Church, a fundamentalist Christian church in Monroe, Wisconsin
Monroe, Wisconsin
Monroe, known as "the Swiss Cheese Capital of the USA", is a city in and the county seat of Green County, Wisconsin, United States. The population, was 10,843 at the 2000 census. The city is located partially within the Town of Monroe and partially in the Town of Clarno.-Geography:Monroe is located...
. Indeed, one commentator has said that Hastings' gay identity "has become a valuable touchstone, frequently revealing the real agenda of certain pro-censorship pressure groups."
On 21 June 2010, Hastings was appointed a District Court Judge and Chair of the Immigration and Protection Tribunal. Hastings was sworn in at Wellington on the 9th of July 2010.