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Officers scoured the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra in search of works by controversial photographer Bill Henson, one of the country’s most acclaimed and successful artists.

The confiscation of the photographs by police has caused a furor, with the prime minister, Kevin Rudd, describing them as “absolutely revolting”.

But many Australians said the police raid was a clumsy attempt at censorship and a

dangerous attack on freedom of expression which would embarrass the country internationally.

In a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, a former police superintendent and now art gallery owner said he was dismayed at “the purse-lipped paragons of public morality” who condemned Henson’s works as child pornography.

On Wednesday a group of leading writers and artists, including Oscar-winning actor Cate Blanchett, signed an open letter expressing dismay at the actions of police and the allegation that Henson was a pornographer.

The prospect of Henson, whose work has been shown in New York, Paris and at the Venice Biennale, being charged had done “untold damage to our cultural reputation”, the letter said.

Henson’s photographs were not titillating but part of an artistic tradition that stretched back to ancient Greece, Caravaggio and Michelangelo.

One of the few politicians willing to defend Henson was Malcolm Turnbull, a former head of the Australian Republican Movement and now the conservative opposition’s treasury spokesman.

He said he owned two of the artist’s works, but neither depicted naked teenagers.

“I don’t believe that we should have policemen invading art galleries. I think we have a culture of great artistic freedom in this country and I don’t believe the vice squad’s role is to go into art galleries,” said Mr Turnbull.

In addition to scrutinizing the National Gallery, police reportedly ordered a gallery in Newcastle, north of Sydney, not to exhibit two Henson photographs featuring nude teens, and descended on another gallery in the city of Albury.

Police have said they intend to prosecute Henson for obscenity but no charges have yet been laid.

The investigation has stalled because Henson has refused to reveal the identity of the girl he photographed nude for the exhibit.

The chief of police in New South Wales, Andrew Scipione, weighed into the debate, saying that as a father he strongly disapproved of the photographs.

Tags: ancient greece, art gallery owner, artistic freedom, artistic tradition, australian republican movement, australians, bill henson, cate, cate blanchett, child pornography, clumsy attempt, conservative opposition, dangerous attack, freedom of expression, greece, malcolm turnbull, mr turnbull, naked teenagers, national gallery of australia, newcastle north, police superintendent, public morality, sydney morning herald, treasury spokesman

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Five months after an inferno gutted the Night %26#39;n Day store on Queenstown%26#39;s Rees St, franchise-holders Dan and Debbie Turnbull were yesterday putting the finish-ing touches on their new Camp St shop.
The early morning November 14 fire, caused by an electrical fault, destroyed Queenstown%26#39;s only all-night convenience store and the adjacent Opal Centre.
Now the new shop, opposite the Queenstown police station, is set to open in the next few days.
The couple were delighted to be opening again within such a short space of time. %26quot;Just finding a decent size premises in this town is so hard,%26quot; Mr Turnbull said.
He said when Pizza Hut decided to move out of the building they snapped up the lease.
There was a flurry of activity in the store yesterday as the premises was readied for opening. %26quot;We%26#39;ve got new staff training, people stacking, builders building and sparkies sparking,%26quot; Mr Turnbull said.
The premises was about 50 square metres larger than the Rees St store, however, most of the extra space was in the food-preparation area, not the shop floor.
Six staff who worked at the previous store had returned to work for the Turnbulls and they would be joined by about nine others.
New products and services would include fresh deli sandwiches made-to-order, hot chickens, milkshakes and a range of desserts.
The site of the old Night %26#39;n Day store is set to remain undeveloped for seven months. Land owner Skyline Enterprises had planned to construct a new two-storey building on the site in autumn. However, managing director Ken Matthews said the date had been set back.
%26quot;The issue is that we have to provide notice to the tenants of the Wakatipu Arcade and for the majority of those people we cannot get access to their tenancies until November 23.%26quot; It is understood the Opal Centre, currently in Beach St premises, will move back to its original location once the new building is completed.

Tags: Food, franchise, mr turnbull, pace, premise

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TASMANIAN Premier Paul Lennon is to seek urgent clarification about just what Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull has done in delaying his approval of the Gunns pulp mill.

Mr Lennon said the Tasmanian parliament was likely to vote overwhelmingly in favour of the $2 billion pulp mill plan when it meets later today. A yes vote would leave Mr Turnbull the only barrier to a green light for the facility. He was due to make a decision on the mill yesterday but granted himself a 30 working days - six weeks - extension to consider the issue. Mr Lennon said he hoped Mr Turnbull had acted legally. %26quot;That is the real question where, as to whether or not the minister has followed the statutory process that he is required to do under his Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. He claims he has,%26quot; he said. %26quot;That is at odds with advice that I have received from my state solicitor-general. So I will be seeking urgent clarification this morning.%26quot; Mr Lennon said it was becoming clear to the Tasmanian community that Mr Turnbull was more interested in prosecuting his feud with businessman Geoffrey Cousins than in proper process for what was the biggest industrial development ever proposed for Tasmania. Mr Cousins, a former adviser to Prime Minister John Howard, has enlisted the support of more than 120 well-known personalities, including actors Bryan Brown, Cate Blanchett and Rachel Ward and playwright David Williamson, in his campaign against the mill. Mr Cousins said today that the Federal Government’s decision was likely to influence the election result. He was expecting chief scientist Jim Peacock would advise the Government not to support the mill. %26quot;I’m informed by people who have been reviewing all the evidence that is going to the chief scientist very shortly that it’s very much firming up against an approval of this mill, particularly in view of its likely impact on the marine environment.%26quot;

Tags: cate, cate blanchett, malcolm turnbull, mr turnbull, playwright

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