Editorial: No book should ever be banned

Into the River has been banned from stores.

Congratulations Bob McCoskrie and Family First for getting the book Into The River banned, even if it was unintentional.

Ted Dawe's award-winning book for teenagers has been banned from sale or supply under an interim restriction order issued by the president of the Film and Literature Board of Review, Dr Don Mathieson QC, after a request by Family First to review the classification.

Mr McCoskrie, who heads the conservative Christian lobby group, has said he didn't want it banned, he just wanted it age restricted with a warning sticker on the front.

The book was first classified as unrestricted with a note about explicit teen sex, drugs and offensive language. Later, an R14 restriction was slapped on it, and last month this was overturned. Now it's been banned until the board meets again to discuss its future classification.

Mr McCoskrie says he's keen to ban or restrict some more books he deems to be "inappropriate". I wonder what he has lined up?

Where were they when 50 Shades of Grey was released? Apart from it being an insult to literature, it's a rather explicit book, with no age ban attached.

But, I'm not sure what he wants to achieve. Teens have access to all sorts of media material these days and if he thinks that, by reading a book that has "sexually explicit material" and is full of common swear words used by plenty of teens on a daily basis, teens will learn from or emulate that behaviour, he obviously does not hold teens in very high regard.

Family First must be totally naive to the world around it, or the antics going on in the modern day school-yard.

In the end I believe the ban will backfire on the flock at Family First. And what better way to get publicity for a book that most people would never have read than to have it banned.

I disagree with Dr Mathieson's decision to ban it. I don't think any book should be banned. Restrictions are already placed on pornographic magazines, which is fair enough, but novels? No way.