Bill Hastings (judge)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from )
For the English footballer, see Bill Hastings (footballer).

Bill Hastings
10th Chief Censor of New Zealand
In office
October 1999 – July 2010
Preceded byKathryn Paterson
Succeeded byAndrew Jack
8th Chief Justice of Kiribati
Assumed office
August 2021
Preceded bySir John Muria
Personal details
Born
William Kenneth Hastings[1]

1957 (age 63–64)
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
EducationLord Roberts Public School
Alma materMidland Avenue Collegiate Institute
Signature

William Kenneth Hastings was New Zealand's tenth Chief Censor. He held the position from October 1999 to July 2010. He was Chairperson of the Immigration and Protection Tribunal from July 2010 until February 2013, and is currently a District Court Judge. He was the chair of the Broadcasting Standards Authority from October 2018 until August 2021.[2] He was sworn in as the tenth Judge of the Court Martial of New Zealand on 20 July 2021.[citation needed] On 9 August 2021, Hastings was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Republic of Kiribati.[3]

Biography[]

Born in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada in 1957, he attended Lord Roberts Public School, and graduated from Midland Avenue Collegiate Institute. He holds a BA from the University of Trinity College, University of Toronto; law degrees from Osgoode Hall Law School, the London School of Economics, and Duke University; and was a practising barrister. He moved to New Zealand in 1985.[4] 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), Deputy Dean of Law, and a member of the governing Council, at Victoria University of Wellington. He was also briefly the 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.[5] He was succeeded as Chief Censor by Andrew Jack.

Role as Chief Censor[]

In 1998, he was appointed Deputy Chief Censor at the Office of Film and Literature Classification by the Governor-General of New Zealand on the recommendation of the Jenny Shipley-led National coalition government. In 1999, he was appointed Chief Censor by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Helen Clark-led Labour coalition government for a three-year term in 1999, a two-year term in 2002, another three-year term in 2004 and a third three-year term late in 2007.

In 2002, Hastings appeared in the public eye when he made censorship decisions on highly controversial films, particularly Baise-moi and Visitor Q, 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 was banned by his office, making its possession in New Zealand illegal. Following a meeting in Toronto on 22 December 2003 between Hastings and officials from the Ontario Ministry of Consumer and Business Services, Manhunt became the first computer game in Ontario to be classified as a film and restricted to adults in February 2004.

The Society for the Promotion of Community Standards in particular has accused Hastings of being a "gay activist" promoting homosexuality and promiscuity by giving too liberal classifications to films.[6] 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[7] – and has upheld 82% of OFLC decisions made under Hastings.[8]

Apart from his professional role, some have taken issue with one aspect of his personal life in particular: Hastings is openly homosexual.[9] Some of these critics include the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards; Graham Capill, former Leader of the Christian Heritage Party; Brian Tamaki in the "Media: The New Witchcraft" section of a DVD produced by the Destiny Church for the 2005 general election; Peter Brown MP, Deputy Leader of the New Zealand First Party; and Pastor Ralph Ovadal's Pilgrims Covenant Church, a fundamentalist Christian church in Monroe, Wisconsin.[10] 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."

Judicial Career[]

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 9 July 2010.[11] In April 2013 he was succeeded as Chairperson of the Tribunal by Judge Carrie Wainwright and began sitting full-time as a District Court judge.[12] From 2015 to 2021 he presided over the Special Circumstances Court in Wellington.[13] The Special Circumstances Court is a therapeutic court aiming to address the underlying causes of offending,[14] an approach that underpins the Te Ao Mārama vision of the New Zealand District Courts.[15]

On 9 August 2021, Hastings was sworn in as Chief Justice of the Republic of Kiribati.[16] Chief Justice Hastings was seconded from the District Court of New Zealand for a period of three and a half years.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Appointment of Chief Censor of Film". New Zealand Gazette. Department of Internal Affairs. 1 August 2002. Archived from the original on 13 February 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Who we are". Broadcasting Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 17 January 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  3. ^ Kiribati Chief Justice Appointed, 10 August 2021
  4. ^ "The structure and staff". Office of Film and Literature Classification. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  5. ^ Guy, Nathan (21 June 2010). "New Chief Censor to be appointed". New Zealand Government. Archived from the original on 12 July 2010. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
  6. ^ "Chief Censor Misuses Living Word", Scoop.co.nz, 15 November 2005, archived from the original on 30 September 2007, retrieved 1 November 2007
  7. ^ "Censorship-appeal stats". Victoria – University of Wellington. 10 November 2006. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Censorship Stats". Kiwiblog. 12 November 2006. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Lobby group slams Censor's 'gay agenda'", GayNZ.com, 14 October 2007, archived from the original on 15 October 2007, retrieved 1 November 2007
  10. ^ Goodenough, Patrick (12 March 2003), "Videos on Homosexuality: Free Speech Or Hate Speech?", CNSNews.com, archived from the original (– Scholar search) on 23 August 2004, retrieved 1 November 2007
  11. ^ New District Court Judge and Chair of Immigration and Protection Tribunal Appointed, 21 June 2010, archived from the original on 27 July 2010, retrieved 24 June 2010
  12. ^ "New Immigration and Protection Tribunal Chair appointed". beehive.govt.nz. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  13. ^ Special Circumstances Court, 27 July 2021, archived from the original on 27 July 2021, retrieved 27 July 2021
  14. ^ Inside a court targeting the cause not just the crime, 29 May 2021
  15. ^ Vision of a new District Court where everyone's words are heard, 18 January 2021
  16. ^ Kiribati Chief Justice Appointed, archived from the original on 15 August 2021, retrieved 10 August 2021

External links[]

Retrieved from ""