A proposal to make hate speech a criminal offence, as it is in the United Kingdom, has been stalled and is unlikely to pass before the election.
The Government fast-tracked a review of hate speech legislation in the wake of the March 15 Christchurch terror attack last year. Justice Minister Andrew Little declared existing legislation on the issue “woefully inadequate”.
Following the review, the Justice Ministry and Human Rights Commission presented Little with options. In March, he said these were “working their way through” the cabinet process, and that he expected an announcement within weeks.
But on Tuesday, he told Stuff Labour was still in talks with its government partners and confirmed the legislation would likely not go to Cabinet until after the election.
However, NZ First claims it has yet to see any policy and indicated it was unlikely to support the law.
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