It begins with the Gallery invitations and ends with the quiet conclusions of the censorship bodies: ‘G’ rating. And it is all the sound bites in between, from shock-jocks, child advocates, the police and politicians, that form the hysteria that made this case.

While his sympathies are clear, Marr remains measured and avoids the polarisation that blocked productive debate. He is upfront about the unnerving element of the photographs.

The assumption that certain material can lead to sexual offence is questioned. Real protection of children may be better left to experts than to the well-intentioned who say ‘protect children at any cost’.

The lesson seems to be that debates shouldn’t be led by shock-jocks, nor political grandstanding. It is a short book and further analysis on the larger debate could have been included to increase its significance. Henson comes across as naive but professional, without arrogance or intention to provoke. The insights from him, the models and their families, are gems in this important book. Text Publishing, RRP $24.95