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Hobson’s Pledge Trust
Vague hate speech proposals, released on Friday, may mean some New Zealanders could end up in jail for speaking out.
The proposed changes, which include a penalty of three years in prison and a $50,000 fine for inciting hatred, were recommended by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch attack on two mosques in which 51 people were killed.
The Commission said that hate crime and hate speech are not adequately dealt with. The six proposals are:
- Changing the language in the incitement provisions in the Human Rights Act 1993 so that they protect more groups that are targeted by hateful speech
- Replacing the existing criminal provision in the Human Rights Act 1993 with a new criminal offence in the Crimes Act 1961 that is clearer and more effective
- Increasing the punishment for the criminal offence to better reflect its seriousness
- Changing the language of the civil incitement provision to match the changes being made to the criminal provision
- Changing the civil provision so that it makes ‘incitement to discriminate’ against the law
- Adding to the grounds of discrimination in the Human Rights Act to clarify that trans, gender diverse and intersex people are protected from discrimination.
The discussion document at Proposals against incitement of hatred and discrimination [PDF, 408KB] blurs the difference between hate crime, which involves violent actions that are motivated by prejudice, and hate speech, which is abusive or threatening speech or writing that expresses prejudice.
We agree with the spokesperson for the Free Speech Union, David Cumin, who said:
“The Government claims these changes to hate speech laws will promote social cohesion. The opposite is true – legislating hatred out of existence is a hopeless expectation. What’s more, the Government is yet to provide examples of the speech they intend these provisions to capture.”
Please make a submission against these proposals by going to https://consultations.justice.govt.nz/policy/incitement-of-hatred/ and either emailing your views or filling out the online form. Public submissions close on August 6.
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