Abstract
INTRODUCTION
The Public Safety Conservation Act is an important but little known piece of legislation. It confers upon the Government very broad powers in times of ‘emergency’ and has been invoked with sweeping effects. This study recounts the history of the Act and evaluates its significance. Chapter One examines its origins, contents, enactment and impact in 1932. Chapter Two describes its use in September 1939, prior to and following the outbreak of war, and analyses the administration of the Censorship and Publicity Emergency Regulations as a case-study in the scope and implications of the Act. Censorship has been selected in part because it fits into the larger pattern of civil liberties with which the Public Safety Conservation Act is, inter alia, concerned. It is also a choice of convenience, for the papers of the press censor, J. T. Paul, are deposited in the Hocken Library. Chapter Three summarises the use of the Act during the 1950-1 industrial ferment and assesses public reaction to it. Public opinion features prominently in this chapter because these years mark the first extensive public examination and discussion of the Act and its immense powers. This summary suggests how far the public are prepared to tolerate its application.