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Free Speech Union
Speak Up for Women will hold a public meeting in Wellington tonight at the Michael Fowler Centre. The Council had sent lawyers to the High Court proceedings we supported in Auckland to see if they could get away with cancelling the event. Given the resoundingly strong judgement in our Court of Appeal judgement, and the subsequent High Court judgement in Speak Up for Women’s favour, Wellington City Council had no choice to back down.
But that didn’t stop Hutt City Mayor Cambell from sticking his oar in. Despite the High Court Judge stating that Speak Up for Women “cannot rationally be described as a hate group“, here is what Mr Barry said on Facebook soon after the announcement of the Wellington event:
The comment reads “If this group needs a venue in the Hutt, I’ve got some nice new waste bins they can use?”
Of course, elected members are perfectly entitled to free speech too, as they are entitled to their personal views. But in their dispense of public facilities, they are required to maintain viewpoint neutrality. The Mayor should not be using their official platforms (Council halls/facilities) to take sides on issues – or mocking a group of feminists because he disagrees with their political views.
As well as being discriminatory, the comment is in clear contradiction to the Court judgement we received last month that Councils cannot discriminate based on politics when making public facilities available. This comment flies in the face of the law, and is a gross breach of Mr Barry’s duties to uphold it.
Your humble Free Speech Union laid a code of conduct complaint against Hutt City Mayor Campbell Barry last week. You can read the complaint here.
Our Pressure Has Forced the Mayor to Apologise
Our complaint had the desired impact. Yesterday’s NZ Herald reported on the Mayor’s apology and picked up my comments on behalf of the FSU:
Dictionaries under Attack?
Definition of “woman” = hate speech?
After the wins against councils, we hoped this issue might quieten down – but on Tuesday we got the news that a billboard in central Wellington has been pulled down because (you couldn’t make this up!) the dictionary definition of “women” is, apparently, “trans-exclusionary” and therefore may be “hate speech”.
Here’s the Billboard Speak Up for Women put up on Monday:
An online campaign (mostly on Twitter) targeting the Council and billboard company soon followed…
And while walking to work on Tuesday, we realised that the billboard company had capitulated:
1News has picked up the story: ‘Anti-trans’ billboard removed from Wellington’s CBD
If a billboard with literally just the dictionary definition of “women” can be successfully accused of being ‘hate speech’ and therefore removed, what hope is there that the Government’s criminalisation of hate speech laws won’t be misused?
What better example of why our work to defeat the Government’s proposals is so important, and why we are asking Kiwis to donate to this important campaign to defend free speech?
Naturally, we are talking to SUFW about their legal and political options. Maybe a friendly Wellington property owner will put their hand up to erect our own billboard in response?
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