District Court Judge Bill Hastings was Chief Censor for nearly 12 years. He came to New Zealand from his homeland Canada. He has three grown-up children and lives in Wellington with his partner, Jeremy. He always tells family and friends when they ask him about being in court, day in, day out, that he believes in the power of redemption. “Any human being can redeem themselves. I don't think I could be in this job if I didn't believe that.”
Photo of the kids and grandkids at our cottage on Sandy Lake, Ontario.
JANZ: Tell us about you and your family and why you live where you live?
Bill: I live with my partner, Jeremy, in an old shoe factory converted into apartments in the middle of town (Wellington). We live here because it’s in the heart of the city. Our balcony overlooks a courtyard that was the location of Air New Zealand’s most dire safety video. Our balcony is often used for opera during the Cuba Dupa Music Festival.
Any pets or animals?
I had a cat named Scratchy from when I was five years old until I was 26. He was my best friend. These days, I only have pets in my imaginary life. One is a Maine Coon cat. The other is a rehomed greyhound named Bruno.
How did you come to study law?
I wanted to be a doctor. I changed tack in high school biology class. The teacher made us prick our fingers to put blood on slides so that we could look at our blood cells under the microscope. I couldn’t do it, so she did it, and I ended up supplying my blood to the whole class. I told her I couldn’t be a doctor who sticks needles into other people if I couldn’t stick one into my own finger. Because I talked so much, she suggested I go into law.
How was it first being appointed to the bench?
It was horrible. I had been the Chief Censor for nearly 12 years. I had taught law at Victoria University before I became the Chief Censor, but I had only actually ever worked in a law firm doing articles of clerkship in Toronto for a year in the early ’80s. I pretty much knew nothing about criminal law, criminal procedure, or evidence. After the first week, I was ready to phone the Attorney-General to tell him this was a big mistake and could he please just revoke my warrant and let me be Chief Censor again? Kind words from Justice French and Judge O’Driscoll stopped me making that call, and I am forever grateful to them.
What interests do you enjoy outside of your job?
I still enjoy movies (my father was a film distributor, I was a film censor, my son has a degree in film, and my younger daughter has a degree in photography and works as a producer in London, so it must be genetic). We have also been knee-deep in renovations to our factory apartment for the best part of six months, so that takes up pretty much every waking non-judicial hour.
What’s been your absolute favourite place to travel (locally or abroad)?
We have a cottage on a lake about a hundred miles northeast of Toronto. Every August, my family gathers there to refresh our batteries. My daughters and grandchildren come from London, my mother comes from Florida, my sister and her two children and two grandchildren come up from Toronto, and my son comes from down the street here in Wellington. It’s the fourth generation there now.
How did you come to be the chief censor
It was all a big accident. The wife of a fellow law lecturer at Victoria happened to be a video censor at the time and mentioned they needed more censors. I needed a bit of money to visit Canada at the time (Prime Minister Lange had just frozen ‘higher salaries’, which included university lecturer salaries of around $24,000 pa), so I said ‘yes’ to a part-time gig at the Video Recordings Authority (with the permission of my Dean). Mysterious phone calls from government agents followed offering me positions on the Indecent Publications Tribunal, the Film and Video Board of Review, and eventually Chief Censor.
What fictional character do you relate to the most?
Probably Jean Valjean. I force-read Les Misérables (long version, including Hugo’s extensive retelling of the Battle of Waterloo) to my son at bedtime. It took us a year to get through it. As a tale of redemption, there’s no better story. And I love collecting sterling silver candlesticks.
What’s the best purchase you’ve ever made?
I don’t ever buy much for myself, apart from the aforementioned candlesticks, occasionally, and art, but I’m running out of walls to hang things. There is a painting of a sheep by Stephen Allwood that was exhibited at the Blenheim Millenium Art Gallery in 2019 that I would like to have, but I don’t think I can afford it.
What’s your favourite dish to cook at home?
We have family dinners on Sundays with whoever is around. My son, his girlfriend, and my ex-wife are regulars, as are various friends with standing invitations. I generally only decide what to cook for dinner on Sunday morning. Keeps me fresh. We’ve had all sorts of delicious things. Recent meals include Iraqi meatballs, Spanish fish stew, charred cauliflower quesadillas, Campari olive oil cake. Last Sunday I made a delicious lemon pudding cake with lemons from our lemon tree at our beach house in Hokio Beach.
What’s your favourite quote, and who’s it from?
I am an atheist, but there’s a phrase from the King James version of the gospel of Mark that really moves me. For me it captures endless curiosity, drive, and the desire to learn stuff. “Go ye unto all the world.” As a genealogist, it also captures the present and historical movements of my family around the world.
What’s the most interesting thing you’ve read or seen lately?
It’s all been a bit depressing lately, hasn’t it, with Covid and all. One of the more interesting things I’ve seen lately is a defendant who burst into tears when I told him I was going to discharge him after his lawyer advocated for something sterner. It wasn’t a very serious charge, he hadn’t had any convictions for four years, and he had a job for the first time in a long time. He was so grateful for what I considered to be a small gesture on my part, but it left me thinking about why, and how long, he had been starved of such small everyday gestures of kindness.
What’s your go-to morning cafe order, and which cafe do you frequent the most?
The cheese scones at the Dowse, opposite the Hutt Valley District Court, are superb. Their secret ingredient is parmesan cheese mixed in with the cheddar. A long macchiato from Milk Crate works on weekends with a sticky bun from Lashings in Eva Street. For a sit-down brunch on weekends, it’s either Floridita’s, the Egmont Street Eatery, or a pop-up called Braw running out of Sheppard on Sundays.