At a post-Cabinet press conference on the 8th of February, just two weeks after becoming New Zealand’s 41st Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins announced that Labour’s proposed hate speech legislation would be withdrawn and the matter referred to the Law Commission.
He explained the Law Commission had “a good track record of developing guidance on difficult issues.”
The real reason the legislation was dumped was, of course, its unpopularity with voters. For a new PM desperately trying to win an election, abandoning it was the only sensible thing to do.
When asked by the media about the timing of the Government’s proposed regulation of social media, Prime Minister Hipkins confirmed no changes had been made – it “will continue to progress on the timetable it was on before.”
We now know the Department of Internal Affairs’ timetable was for a 1 June announcement of 8 weeks of public consultation on their “Safer Online Services and Media Platforms” proposal.
Immediately described as ‘hate speech by the back door’, their new regulations will not only cover the New Zealand public, social media companies, on-line platforms, films, and gaming, but the mainstream media as well.
Quite why such a controversial crackdown on free speech would be released so close to an election is hard to fathom, especially as any legislation would not be introduced until 2024 – and only if Labour is returned to government. Perhaps the inexperienced new Minister and first term MP Barbara Edmonds did not recognise the political danger.
The DIA proposal is far reaching. It involves the establishment of a new Government regulator – already dubbed ‘Big Brother’ – with the power to control what can and cannot be discussed online by all media organisations that have an annual audience of more than 100,000 New Zealanders or a mailing list that reaches 25,000 or more subscribers.
Codes of practice for media organisations will be developed by the industry, community groups and academics – without the scrutiny of Parliament or input from the public. Once approved by the regulator, any non-compliance will be punished through fines of up to $200,000 and orders to take-down offending content.
The proposed regulator would have the power to over-ride the new Aotearoa New Zealand Code of Practice for Online Safety and Harms developed by Netsafe for the big tech companies including Facebook, Google, and Twitter, and the Harmful Digital Communications Act, as well as a range of long established statutory and self-regulatory bodies including the Broadcasting Standards Authority, the Media Council, the Advertising Standards Authority, and the work of the Chief Censor.
The new regime smacks of jack-booted totalitarianism – as freelance journalist Janet Wilson explains: “In George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, the citizens of Oceania are watched everywhere they go through telescreens by the ruling Party’s omniscient leader Big Brother…
“Like 1984 it breeds a world where paranoia and cynical distrust reign supreme. Where it’s enough for someone to complain that they don’t feel ‘safe’ which will bring that content provider under the auspices of the regulator who’ll then examine the provider’s safety plan. If the safety plan is found wanting, for whatever reason, if you are deemed to have offended then watch out, the weaponisation of the complaints process is complete. The regulator has the power to take down your content and fine you. Mr Orwell couldn’t have designed a more labyrinthine system that robs a population of their greatest power, the ability to express themselves.”
As if this is not frightening enough, the regulator would also be under the influence of Labour’s racist agenda – as the consultation paper explains: “It is important that the new regulatory framework reflects New Zealand’s unique cultural and social perspectives, and that it is grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi. The new regulatory framework would aim to achieve outcomes that reflect Maori perspectives, needs, and aspirations.”
They expect “a significant Maori presence on the Board of the regulator” and recommend a “formal Maori advisory structure”. They also suggest Maori should be involved in creating codes of conduct that reflect cultural values and include cultural competency requirements.
A hint of where this could lead can be seen in the new social media code of practice developed by Netsafe last year: “The Code has been developed… in consultation with Maori advisors… The intention and development of the Code is encapsulated by four key Maori principles of mahi tahi (solidarity), kauhanganuitanga (balance), mana tangata (humanity) and mana (respect), which are critical and necessary to realising the purpose and aspirations of the Code…”
Since Maori will be in a position to significantly influence Labour’s new media regulator, it doesn’t take much imagination to conclude that commentary regarded as critical of their agenda – such as challenging their Treaty ‘partnership’ myth, co-governance and He Puapua – will be considered ‘unsafe’ and ‘harmful’ hate speech and targeted for heavy regulation.
The dominance of a Maori influence in all regulations and legislation now produced by the Labour Government can be traced back to the powerful Office for Maori Crown Relations, that was established in 2018 in collaboration with Iwi Leaders.
The Herald’s senior political journalist Audrey Young provided an insight into this powerful organisation last year, pointing out that the Minister had instructed it to operate “under the radar”. As a result, most people are unaware of its existence, in spite of the profound influence it is having – as the vehicle Labour’s Maori caucus is using to embed co-governance throughout the State sector.
Through a framework that not only forces public service chief executives to establish cultural competency targets for all staff, the Office also imposes a Maori veto over all Government policy: “In 2019 the Cabinet Office issued a new circular for all ministers and chief executives to apply whenever new policy is being developed, to ensure it is compliant with the Treaty.”
Their remit has now been expanded to cover any organisation connected to the government in any way. As a result, Treaty and cultural competency requirements are appearing throughout the private sector as well as the public sector, as New Zealand is being transformed into an Apartheid nation where a Maori world view dominates.
This can be seen only too clearly in the proposal from the New Zealand Transport Agency to introduce almost 100 bilingual traffic signs. Cultural sensitivities now appear to have become more important to the NZTA, than their primary mandate of road safety.
Asked why Maori is displayed as the dominant language in the signs, with English in a smaller secondary position, when most motorists only understand English, the Agency explains: “One of the design principles for bilingual traffic signs is for te reo Maori to be presented in a culturally appropriate way to reflect the mana of the language. Where te reo Maori and English text cannot be displayed as equal then te reo Maori should be more prominent. Given that te reo Maori is used less than English throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, Waka Kotahi is of the view that it needs to be promoted if it is to achieve equality with English in New Zealand.”
Submissions on the bilingual traffic sign debacle close on Friday 30 June – full details can be found HERE.
And the closing date for submissions on Labour’s new hate speech proposal is 31 July, with details found HERE.
These two government consultation processes illustrate how out of touch the Labour Government has become. Peripheral matters are now regarded as mainstream, while mainstream issues like ensuring our health system is running smoothly, that children attend school and are getting a top-quality education, and that crime is under control, have fallen into disarray.
Meanwhile the stream of Ministerial controversies just keeps growing: the sacking of Stuart Nash for disclosing confidential Cabinet information; the desertion of Meka Whaitiri to the Maori Party; the reprimand of Justice Minister Kiri Allan for attacking RadioNZ after her fiancée missed a top job; the stuff up over the Census with Statistics Minister Deborah Russell now retracting her promise to resign if she didn’t reach her 90 percent response target; the hauling of Education Minister Jan Tinetti in front of the Privileges Committee for misleading Parliament; and now the unfolding saga of lies and deceit by the “river of filth” Transport Minister Michael Wood over his on-going failure to publicly disclose and sell his Auckland Airport shares.
There is now not only a growing perception of incompetent Ministers ignoring the rules, but also of leadership failure at the highest level, with the Cabinet Office telling the Minister 12 times over a two year period to comply, instead of enforcing their requirement.
All of this paints a dismal picture of a woeful Government completely out of its depth and doing untold damage to our country – as this week’s NZCPR Guest Commentator, Frank Newman encapsulates in his narrative “If I wanted New Zealand to fail”:
If I wanted New Zealand to fail…
To suffer, not prosper; to despair, not dream.
I would start with democracy itself.
I would say it is not working.
I’d say that a House of Representatives that represents all people, does not suit a modern society.
I’d call it old-fashioned.
I’d say everyone is equal, but some are more equal than others…
If I wanted New Zealand to fail…
I would make bold promises, then hire an army of spin doctors to make excuses when things go wrong.
I would make the independent media financially dependent on the government so that instead of holding the politicians to account, the Government’s narrative becomes their narrative…
If I wanted New Zealand to fail…
I would prey on the goodness and decency of ordinary New Zealanders.
I would only need to convince them… that all of this is for the greater good… that politicians are the answer to their problems, not the cause…
If I wanted New Zealand to fail…
I wouldn’t change a thing.
The full narrative may be read HERE.
Finally, we are pleased to announce that our ambitious project to print and deliver free copies of Sir Apirana Ngata’s explanation of the Treaty of Waitangi to New Zealand households is now underway.
A trained lawyer and Member of Parliament for 39 years, Sir Apirana Ngata is one of New Zealand’s most respected Maori leaders – and the face of our $50 bank note.
His clear and concise explanation of the Treaty was written in the Maori language in 1922 in response to questions about its meaning.
Forty-one years later, with questions still remaining, Sir Apirana’s explanation was translated into English and distributed free of charge to Maori households as an insert in a government magazine.
Another forty years on, with the debate continuing and the Treaty being reinterpreted, we are distributing Sir Apirana’s explanation to Kiwi households to set the record straight about the Treaty’s original meaning.
Our project is in two parts.
The first is printing Sir Apirana’s explanation in a format that allows for mass distribution to an estimated 1.4 million households – namely as a quality insert in the country’s newspaper network.
And the second part involves printing 10,000 copies of the explanation as an A5 booklet to send to libraries and selected schools.
At this stage, thanks to the generosity of NZCPR readers, we have raised sufficient funding to print the 10,000 booklets and 500,000 of the inserts. Accordingly, we are now launching an urgent fundraiser to cover the cost of printing and distributing the balance of the inserts.
If you would like to support this project to set the record straight on the original meaning of the Treaty, then please visit our fundraising page HERE. Complimentary copies of the A5 booklet will be available to those who donate to this project. And, if you know anyone else who might be interested in helping, please encourage them to visit our fundraising page as well.
Please note: To register for our free weekly newsletter please click HERE.
THIS WEEK’S POLL ASKS:
*Do you support Labour’s plan to introduce a new hate speech regulator?
*Poll comments are posted below.
*All NZCPR poll results can be seen in the Archive.
THIS WEEK’S POLL COMMENTS
| We were already not allowed to criticize Dam Ardern and her presumed utopia. Now they don’t want us to tell the truth about our society going backwards to Maori tribalism. We need to be looking to the future of tech. and A.I. | Monica |
| Funny how this government is happy for kids to watch perverted porn, while adults will not be allowed to read what they like. | Sven |
| Under this current Government and the influence of the Maori elite plus Willy Jackson mob our freedom is rapidly being destroyed by these thugs and despots Bring on the elections and get rid of these .Bastards. | ken |
| big broyjer is a no go | bud |
| Definitely not. the freedom to express oneself is so important in a Democracy. | Ray |
| Such law is unworkable and unnecessary. It’s only being pushed now by the Maori caucus within the Maori party. A Party that by its very name is Racist in the extreme. | Graeme |
| It’s nonsense. | David |
| its bad enough now with all the lies from labour, greens and the chocolate mob and now the foon guy, and the media taking bribe money from the dame’s slush fund time the decent NEW ZEALANDER”S rise up and jail all the scum that think up these 1984 regulations to boost their corrupt mental ideas but they still will manage to do what they like. | Richard |
| Jacinda addressed. the UN saying ” Free speech is a dangerous weapon – we must control it” The NZ MSM didn’t report it, though there was much international comment. | Sam |
| They are Marxist idiots | Laurie |
| No not ever. We have a 3 ring circus Labour, Greens and Maori Party. Bunch of clowns. But very dangerous clowns. All thrown from the big top in October. | Allan |
| No surprise there. All the hallmarks of a totalitarian regime have been revealed and are put into practise on a ongoing basis. Who is to blame? Well— basically we all get what we deserve. And when we take a closer look we truly can say that our very neighbours in their apathy, gullibility and laziness to inform and think for themselves have made this all possible over time. The ones who walk with open eyes and ears are a minority in comparison with this inert mass out there. And to silence us they introduce such things as a ‘hate speech regulator’. | Michael |
| Hate speech never seems to be done by those who have the correct skin tone or political persuasion. Can you point out any such missteps perpetrated by anyone affiliated to Labour? If you are in the media or in Parliament, you won’t be able to. If you are a regular person, you will be able to roll off a few examples from the last couple of weeks and with a bit of time, you will be able to provide many more occasions. | Kris |
| why can we not be one nation | brent |
| With the intention of restricting what all news media can publish we are becoming/already there with free speech exactly what putin has done over the last few years there is only one source of news available in that country, russa called pravda. We in New Zealand have our own putin , namely Hipkins going down the same track. Heaven help us. | Cyril |
| This govt has to go. | Bill |
| No way, we have a right to our point of view, especially when we see TRUTH is way different to the Government narrative. This is absolutely ridiculous! | Jess |
| Alice down the rabbit hole – when I say anything it means what I want it to say, even if it doesn’t. | Paloma |
| No. I hate regulators | Peter |
| Political Racism | Rod |
| The hate is coming from the top down. Divide and conquer never ends well. Fellow Kiwis think carefully this Oct/23 for a positive real change in direction. We need to take a chance and get off this racial divide set up for the benefit very few New Zealanders based on lies which ultimately will affect every single one of us. in my view hate speech regulation is designed to demoralize us making us easy to manipulate with more restrictions in the future. Don’t allow them to do it. | Sam |
| It’s all because Labour can not stand or cope with people being against them and all the people are doing is telling it as it is. They want to take the power and knowledge away from the people just like what has happened in Russia today. | Owen |
| it is communistic in every way and will take democracy out | Sam |
| The proposed law is an abomination and a total affront to most New Zealanders. The inclusion of all the Maori rubbish is really troubling and is making me view Maori not as partners but as enemies in our midst. | Derek |
| It’s profoundly disturbing. | Liz |
| Does this commie plan include comments on your NZCPR newsletter? Hipkins has to GO. He’s hidden behind the Dame for 6 years and is now carrying on with her nasty plan to destroy NZ. These Rivers of filth must be gone in October or earlier. I bothers me that they will (again) cheat their way back for another 3 years while they will lower the voting age to 16 and allow crims to vote – all for free stuff. They will try to cheat and there will be no recounting of votes allowed. | Carolyn |
| Another weapon for this government to outlaw and words which disagree with their ideology. They shut down any speech they do not agree with especially in the moral laws, where most of them are morally reprobate and driven on racially dividing this country. | Dene |
| One exception – I hate Labour and all who support it. | Valerie |
| Once the law is in, how long before they drop the threshold to 5,000, 100 or 2? | Mike |
| No I don’t trust them to get it right if they are to change things!! They are idiots dictating shit we don’t need! | Neil |
| labour is doing this so nobody can have any opinion thats opposes labour & the maoris.They also want to change the voting system so Greens/maori voting in prison/under 16 who will vote green labour with its control on peole getting the benefit WILL ALWAYS REMAIN IN POWER they will have complete control of NZ just as the united nations want.When you commit a big crime & go to prison its a holiday as you eat better than law abiding people ,you have computers (to carry out crime),you have sport equipment alot of people would not be able to afford,just look at their Xmas menue & ask yourself if you could afford to eat like that,if labour gets its way they,ll all be able to vote for the maori party so make sure to appose any corrections hipkins tries to force through.He,s another smiler like jacinda. | Cindy |
| Racist in its entirety. | mark |
| NO NEVER. This 3 ringed circus of Labour, Greens and Maori Party couldn’t organise a life raft for their sinking ship. Imagine Tamahere, Jackson and Morgan being involved in the censorship. God help us. And Maori seem to have a free pass and can say what they like. Racism at it’s best. No democracy here. DO NOT VOTE FOR THESE RADICAL CLOWNS IN OCTOBER. | Kevin |
| These types of legislation are always biased in implementation. They are subtle in controlling speech. The worst case examples are used as justification for the law, yet these worst case scenarios are always able to be prosecuted under existing legislation. | Andrew |
| An unequivocal no. This country is becoming a nation akin to something from George Orwell’s 1984 or Animal Farm. Free speech is the cornerstone of democracy, and it is being eroded rapidly by this administration. There is already legislation covering this issue. It appears this government is determined to control the thoughts and actions of the entire population, except perhaps for maoris. This is something from Putin’s playbook. It must be stopped. Firearms owners were the first in a long list to be hammered by this divisive regime. | Gavin |
| This bunch of complete clowns are out of hand with their stupidity, meanwhile the maori party, the tammyhairies, etc,etc, smirk and tune their violins ! | John |
| This effort by labour is simply another intrusion into the rights and responsibilities of all New Zealanders. This appears to be a world-wide phenomena, where we are all being sucked into an Orwellian world where up is down, black is white, etc. The idiots in power are creating a great deal of psychological harm across all New Zealanders, people of all ages and backgrounds. They need to stop and they need to be gone! | Trevor |
| Absolute f***ing bigotted bollocks! | GeeBer |
| Already signed NZ First petition against it. | Helen |
| I was once a floating voter. With the Labour Governments proposal to deprive us of free speech and democracy they have lost my vote for ever | Chris |
| When will it stop, we have lost democracy with no right of reply to any government department including parking tickets. When will the population wake up that we are living in a communist country with another name. The reds in Wellington still have the same coat on as Cindy had. Wake up NEW ZEALAND even the birds are singing about it in the trees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | Jeff |
| What a devious and underhand lot this Labour Government is. Pray they are gone soon!!!! | Allan |
| We are all somewhat unimpressed with how and what will be labelled ‘hate speech’ as it truly now does include “that which the govt doesn’t like” | Chris |
| NO NEVER NEVER. Labour is treason. Not government. You disgusting communist filth. | Trever |
| As a kid I knew this old saying:- ‘Sticks & Stones may break my bones but names can never hurt me’. People can say whatever they like but it is only law if the government builds it into law. So Government stay out of it. | Eric |
| You can see where all this is going. It’s to control the narrative and Labours spin doctor’s will be kept busy. | Lawrie |
| If you want to know who controls you, looks at those you cannot question | Bryan |
| I wouldn’t support any thing this bunch of dropkicks propose. Remember a vote for labour, greens qr maori equals co governance equals a racist government. | Brian |
| Keep your opinion up your sleeve!! | John |
| I strongly oppose such a move. | James |
| It will make things worse | Gay |
| definitely not, the Labour government are relentless on their attack of our Democracy, why? | Giles |
| The elite globalists are terrified that the truth is getting out to more and more people and this corrupt despicable group of misfits called government are also terrified of the truth. So the puppets they are, obey their masters. The likes of Schwab, Gates, Soros, Rothschilds, etc. Need I go on? Under orders they produce these dystopian laws to distract and control us, This crowd of liars and cheats must go! But beware Luxon and his crew are on the same page as labour, Luxon is a globalist and a closet labour member! | peter |
| A cheap commie means of eliminating justified criticism of an incompetent and arguably corrupt candidate for the next election. | Richard |
| ABSOLUTELY NOT!! | Keith |
| I have been thinking for sometime now that this country has gone too far down the Totaltarian pathway and the best thing to do would be to get out. | Paul |
| Anything based on the Treaty is wrong and ancient history and worth nothing but ridicule. So all of these changes bring forced on us through every Government Department is rubbish. We don’t accept it. | CHRIS. |
| Suppression of free speech in this manner completely beggars belief. I spent the greater part of my life in a profession defending democracy by taking the Queen’s shilling and will not have Orwell’s ‘Aminal Farm’ imposed on me or anyone else without strong opposition. | Douglas |
| No! By bringing in someone to “Control” or decide what is hate speech, you take away the freedom to express your opinion.People just need to harden up, and accept, that not everyone has the same opinions, and as long as it is not overtly racist or inciting violence, an opinion should be allowed to be expressed. | Heather |
| wouldn’t trust anything they try to introduce WHO WOULD ????? | SHERYL |
| What is hate speech? | Mark |
| Definitely not | Gavin |
| It muzzles free speech. | Peter |
| What is hate speech? What is racism? How can you have a “law” concerning something that cannot be defined? These fools have lost their minds and have moved to a dark place. Everything that comes out of their mouths is nonsense!!! Why stop with just English and maori on road signs? May as well include all languages. That is how stupid it is. | Neil |
| Labour are beginning to panic, jamming in as many ill conceived laws as possible before the election. The chaos is reaching a crescendo. | Audrey |
| Most definitely not! This country is deeply divided now without that! | Janet |
| Hell NO. | Ian |
| There should be freedom of speech….. | Greg |
| More bloody control by our useless Labour govt., as if we need this and turning more t o Maori. | Fraser |
| I must say I am struggling to get my head around the many aspects of our lives which have been invaded by this Liebour Govt over the last 5 to 6 years. I struggle to see how this country called New Zealand will ever recover from such a sudden DEATH of many parts of our lives because this Govt has ridden rough shod over many Kiwis especially if we are white Kiwis. The maorification take over has happened SO quickly & much of it hidden from the public numpties or sheeple who are just totally oblivious thanks nothing to MSM of the disastrous state NZ is in having been totally destroyed by these incompetent fools who are supposed to be paid with Taxpayers $$$$ to Represent us. I am unable to recognise this country that it was even 10 years ago. I could come to terms with part-maori having 15% or 17% representation on many Govt positions….BUT ONLY if they meet the Qualifications & Criteria for that position, in other words by their merit, not just because their cousin or sister or brother happens to be Nanaia Mahuta…! | Bruce |
| Sick of all this Maori bullshit !!! | Henry |
| Absolutely NO!! | Caren |
| This Labour Government is totally out of Control creating Racial Tensions to try to hide what they’re really doing. | Frank |
| totally unnecessary | Colin |
| More bs. When will it stop! | Wayne |
| We wish to live in a democracy, a country called New Zealand and a city called Auckland where one person equals one vote and referendums are a must have. | Ronald |
| LIkNazi Germany | Bruce |
| When does the civil war start | paul |
| I don’t support Labour in anything. they are shocking. | Christopher |
| Why should one person have that power? | Theodora |
| The bee hive should be removed. | Bruce |
| Free Speech must be protected | Marie |
| Unnecessary legislation. | NEIL |
| In the past 3 years, Labour and the support of other parties in parliament have passed so many undemocratic Laws, These Laws do not serve New Zealanders. Who do they serve? We can look at history and see this has been done before. Surely, we can learn from history? So here we have 120 mps and their overstacked staff who we pay through our taxes, our hard earned money! Are we angry enough yet? Do you see the effects of their actions changing the future lives of our children. What a legacy! Shame on them. We are being dehumanized. They probably have already created a name for us in the future. Zombies? Cyborgs? AI robots.. I wonder what the Creator of the Human Species has to say about that. Oh that’s right, we can’t bring that into a political conversation! To our detriment. What fools we are! | Lee |
| It clearly smacks of Big Brother and stifles genuine opinion and discussion | Keith |
| Freedom of speech should be an absolute right for all people, especially in a democracy. This is just another Labour plan to dumb us all down. Good (most) people don%u2019t use hate speech anyway, we were taught honesty and just speak the truth. And sometimes the truth hurts! | Heather |
| Who would oversight and censure the powers of such a regulator and what powers would be moderated by the general population. We say we don’t want a King or Queen or a dictatorship but this is just such a beast. NO! | Christina |
| NZ is fast becoming a controlled communist/ dictatorship regime country similar to Russia and China. In this case Maori become the controllers and anybody that is denying this, has there head well and truely buried in the sand. Or is just plain naive. and dumb! | Peter |
| It would be the end of freedom of expression and democracy | Michael |
| I don’t want my free speech decolonised and maoriofied by a co governed woke regulator. | Peter |
| What crap – how can this mob be reelected… | Gerry |
| Absolutely not, free speech is essential and those against free speech are those who are the greedy people who want things there way and are not to be trusted | Tom |
| Another step to silence free speech – the mainstay of a Democracy. I want to weep that it has got this far. | Rosalie |
| Over reach by central government which undermines democracy | Paula |
| No of course not. They, Labor, are the masters and perpetrators of Hate speech. | Anon |
| Yet another completely unnecessary waste of money. The fact that they’re wanting to squander it on a body designed to suppress criticism and free speech is even more galling. | Graham |
| certainty not. We already have legislation that covers this. Having a single person regulator allows bias dependant on their view beliefs. | Sydney |
| SOCIALISM IS THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL | BRUCE |
| Hell NO! | Martin |
| Most definitely not – George Orwell 1984 to a tee. What the hell are we coming to!!! | Mike |
| Can they divine hate speech for us,or is it just if people think differently it gets ticked off as hate speech, what ever it means. | Rina |
| I hate them | Arthur |
| They have completely lost touch | Keith |
| Unequivocally | Carol |
| The hypocrisy, the hypocrisy.. they who want to restrict what they term as ‘hate speech are themselves the ones consumed with hate! They hate everyone who is not like themselves. | Bruce |
| Under no circumstances. They have done enough damage already | Rob |
| Far too much Govt control on the public speech area now | Edgar |
| Total waste. Another limitation on our freedom. There won’t be anything left if this government will stay in power. It makes me feel sick | Yanna |
| This seems just the start of the weird world of communist control. We should watch the proponents of “hate speech control” very, very carefully. | ROB |
| The sooner this party are out of government the better. With every new policy (ideology) they bring in they are trampling the country further and further into the mire. | Sue |
| i may be many things- ie old- but i will never be a racist- because the word is ridiculous. nz however, under the laughable guise of promoting the opposite- is racing headlong to give the word credibility, by becoming just that. separate rights based on skin colour. obscene. we. must. stop. it. | mark |
| Absolutely NO!! This is a part of the Ardern deceit and obfuscation!! | Ian |
| It is happening all over the western world. Were you aware immigrants are afraid to vote for any other party but the Labor party or they risk deportation? This has been going on for 5 years | Noel |
| Enough already on this stupidity. Political control of the media is the first step to total control of our democracy | Norm |
| That’s communism by stealth, except it is not even so stealthy anymore. | Ling |
| Regulation of speech, ideas and thoughts is antithetical to the whole concept of freedom and a democratic society. It is a Marxist evil that has NO place in New Zealand. | Rodger |
| Unequivically NO | Catherine |
| Absolutely !!! This is not a hate speech law plan but a deliberate to attempt to silence free speech. We have to get rid of Labour and ALL its supporters — AND NOW !! | Alan |
| Absolutely not, what are these people being fed? | Neville |
| no donot need it nor want it i thought we already have free speech ? which is all we need, and nothing less | james |
| If Labour get away with this piece of legislation, they will have total control of both mainstream media and social media. Discussion of issues would be stopped if there was disagreement with government policy. | Mark |
| This Labour Govt know they are incompetent & need the help of the media to control the people. So wrong. I will keep fighting for the future of our young NZ’ers. | Judith |
| NO .. just another ridiculous communist idea. As for Sir Apirana’s explanation of the Treaty being mass distributed nation wide … what a fantastic move. Just like war .. the truth has always been the first casualty and this is war … against racist tyranny. | Alan |
| they are determined to do as much damage as possible before being booted out! | Helen |
| Definitely not | Barbara |
| Absolutely anti democratic. Like most young people of today they just cant take or accept criticism. They are the wifi whenua generation. You heard that wifi whenua here first!!! From me!!!! | mike |
| hell no!! how can we get back to a democratic country, as we had before the last labour govt. ?? One of the main problems has fled the nest !! norm m. | norman |
| Who decides what is considered hate speech? There is already legislation for speech that incites violence and abuse. This is merely another ploy to control critics and opinions of the current narratives. Extremists have hi-jacked the New Zealand government and we are blindly letting them ruin our country. We used to have a proud reputation for being tough, resilient, resourceful, ethical and just. What is our repute in this day and age where we need protection from ‘speech’? | Martin |
| This is very like the dystopian horror pictured in Orwell’s 1984 | Peter |
| A freely voiced opinion is not hate speech | Colin |
| Impartial, independent, racially neutral commission maybe if checks and balances are put in place. In preference though, better education and support to give people the spine and strength to stand up to hate speech | Alan |
| There are already sufficient laws. | Deborah |
| Just another way to control and therefore limit free speech | lindsay |
| No, no, no ,no, no. | Gail |
| We already have sufficient legislation to cover libel and untrue statements. | Andy |
| HELL NO!!! | DAVE |
| There are existing laws that are in place to cover racist sexist abuse both verbal and written. Bringing in new hate speech laws is unnecessary, and must be intended to control normal freedom of speech. | Caeol |
| Its racist and un democratic | Fiona |
| The Labour Party and it’s racist collaborators need to be removed from office Rex Webb | Rex |
| This is virtually straight out of Putins play book, just a $200,000 fine instead of imprisonment, which Russian people face. If it progresses, passed into law, would I face such a fine if I suggested that Maori with a European surname that they inherited from a paternal ancestor, should be compelled to include such ancestry whenever they quote their Iwi roots. Currently most Maori with a political agenda, ignore this courtesy to their European or Asian forebears, which frankly I find insulting. and racist. | Vic |
| Just another control of individuals by Labour – NZ needs FREE SPEECH undoctored by Labour | tony |
| Definitely not. How many more regulatory systems do we need | Lenice |
| Totally Orwellian. | Terry |
| Define hate speech first- in a quantifiable way – justifying how this reflects the peoples view and how you have consulted the NZ public- and make it apply within the halls of parliament | Skarlett |
| NO it is just another part of their STUPID and IGNORANT IDEOLOGY of we know what is best for everyone | Les W |
| What a stupid proposal and if it goes through we are joining those who are fleeing from this absurd country. Good luck to those who remain. It’s insane! | Chaquila |
| Are these guys/girls normal human beings, or are they bereft of any common sense in any shape or form. | Sam |
| Free speech is everyones right from the day we are born. No government has the right to take take that away from us. If they plan to do that, it is the most evil. thing politicians can do. | William |
| Outrageous | Peter |
| Freedom of speech and democracy are intertwined – cannot have one without the other. | Rob |
| Ridiculous! Hate speech is not free speech which should be free of criticism. | Bill |
| Another example created by arrogant Marxists of a solution looking for a problem | Frank |
| The whole Labour party is a disgrace.NZ does not need there antics and we certainly can not afford another term of these clowns | Wendy |
| When will,all,this craziness end? Hope people see sense before then. | Beverley |
| Labour Systematically destroying NEW ZEALAND | raleigh |
| We need to Protect our right to free speech. And who gets to decide what is Hate speech? | Jzay |
| It would if passed, curtail the right of free speech, which is essential in a democracy. That means there are going to be things said that I vehemently disagree with. | Annette |
| 1984 revisited | Mark |
| This is our worst nightmare staring us in the face. We would have no rights to disagree with the government, iwi, political ideology and would e CANCELLED. This is not the NZ that I grew up in over the last 81 years. I would defend my right to speak freely about the attack on democracy and would fight to the death over that. | Kerry |
| ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!! This country is being run by the MAORI CAUCUS NOT the Govt!!! The Treaty should be burned!!! | Ron |
| We have no choice other than to remove labour from office. Their track record so far has revealed only incompetence from this one sided government and a very noticeable US and THEM relationship between the people and the pretenders in the Beehive. | fred |
| JUST 2 WORDS : RIDICULOUS DIVISIVE | ALAN |
| When a governing body resorts to this type of tyranny it really proves they have lost any trust in themselves | Rod |
| I believe that an early explorer described the Maori savages as ‘an intelligent, mischievous people’. Indeed! | Tony |
| STOP everything you are doing and wait for election or better yet call an election tomorrow. | Evan |
| I am appalled at how much NZ has been changed into an apartheid nation already, with the right of free speech undermined, and general intelligence belittled in favour of brainwashing of the masses. Humans are individuals with different ways of approaching life, which has been the reason for evolution and inventions to date. | Susan |
| This appointment of a ‘reulator’ is just as undemocratic (if not more so) than the hate speech laws proposed. Does this government think we are idiots? do they think we can’t see what they are doing with this proposed ‘regulator’? Trying to side step. | Charles |
| lets make 1984 fiction again not the guiding principles of this government | philip |
| Definitely not! Without free speech we don’t know who the idiots are!! | patricia |
| The Labour Party have stuffed up enough bills without wrecking this one. | Dennis |
| this apartheid system is stirring up hatred in Blenheim – i bought a white toy pig at the local market and was walking with it and a Maori woman came up and said ‘ mmm a white pig – he looks like your son ” when the jab came out i went into a shop and a Maori woman at the counter said ” have you j had the jab – i said no and she said – I have – i get mine first cos I am Maori – many other incidents like that i am 70yrs old and this has been recently stirred up by our apartheid govt – a new thing for me | anna |
| They could not even regulate vape products and have unintended consequences. Everything these numpties do is a complete catastrophe | Chris |
| I do not support anything this crazy government does or wants to do. | Colleen |
| Reading Orwells 1984 must be compulsory for Labour party membership. My God what if they actually get re elected along with the Maori party. The queues at the Airport will be similiar to scenes of a country under attack. Please undecided voters especially young and impressionable ones understand what the hell is really going on. | Ken |
| A big fat NO! You’re offended? Please explain why your inability to control your emotions translates into me having to censor my opinions? This is my standard response to anyone who might consider something I say as hateful. | Neil |
| They would see too many speeches about themselves and their coalition Jackles. | laurie |
| Anything Labour proposes is bound to fail so why introduce a New Hate Law? | Warren |
| If maori want to learn te reo they can do so in their own home | Colin |
| It is a total farce I support free speech. | Don |
| What has happened to Freedom of speech, more control over us. Hope this Socialist Government will be out of office Nov 2023 | Ross |
| another waste of time and money , fix the roads first | Chris |
| typical labour, don’t have an original thought in their heads, so are prepared to damage the country to put in place communism, which doesn’t work, lazy, incompetent pathetic idiots, the lot of them, my opinion. | Merryl |
| Of course not | Geoffrey |
| another step closer towards Big Brother Dominating New Zealand | leo |
| isn’t this what Hitler did? | linda |
| An appointment made by the Maori caucus could mean we get some one like Willie Jackson and could you expect unbiased results? | Denis |
| No way | Mike |
| To a point it is a sign of the times where everyone can go on social media and let their one-eyed views be known and one outrageous comment draws more and more yet these are not at all mainstream, but many people can be influenced but their radical comments. We do need to rely on the common scents of the majority to not be influenced by the invisible radicals. | alan |
| Free speech is essential for democratic purposes | Alan |
| This more than proves we are well into 4th Reich. Controlling Speech is Controlling People no matter what spin you could put on this. And it’s only there to help hide the Facism that’s now descending on all of us. | Geoff |
| I believe the fundamentals of actually asking the voters in our supposedly democratic nation, whether these divisive policies are in any way acceptable, tolerable, reasonable, or any other possible option. this is clearly hijacking of our society for a much bigger, and well funded agenda of subjugationed | andrew |
| Best to clean house. Ditch the treaty and Hori seats. | mike |
| Here we go again. Same as Race Relations Conciliator only favours one race or Political party. No way to more Political nonsense | Frank |
| A hate speech law provides the means for any political party to muzzle dissent and debate, the Marxist objective. | Rex |
| Freedom is essential for a happy society. We are overgoverned as it is. | John |
| OMG, this racist Govt MUST go, with the greens and the maori AS BAD | Laurie |
| Absolute control is what they want | Geoff |
| Their proposed hate speech regulator has a one-way slant, It is against the majority and does nothing to stem an over vocal minority who use it all the time. | Ken |
| freedom of speech and open government – actual transparency – are essential for an approximation of democracy to remain. | margaret |
| NO ! NO! NO ! 1 | Dick |
| not bloody likely | eric |
| Free speech is the heart of a fully functioning democracy. Taking away free speech take away democracy. | Grant |
| NO! | Roy |
| Free speech must be maintained if you live in a democratic country.The current Labour Government have failed to deliver anything that would benefit the vast majority of New Zealanders. I have reread the book 1984 by George Orwell and this government is mimicking the story exactly.Labour and the Greens need to be put down. | Steve |
| Facist | Trevor |
| Muriel knows what would happen. | June |
| We need FREE speech | dave |
| Totalitatianism | Gordon |
| It does not address as yet and undefined issue, in fact it creates and even worse position. | John |
| In my opinion Maori are being used as pawns by the real ‘white supremacists’. Those that wish to control all of us black, brown, red, yellow and white alike. | Darag |
| A strong NO .Freedom of speech is the cornerstone of a functioning democracy – I guess they don’t want us having one. Who is going to decide what is hate speech – Kate Hannah a vigorous hard left socialist?? Ardern’s hand is on this | Carolyn |
| What happened to principal of Free Speech in Labour’s Socialist Utopia of Aotearoa ? Same as one nation, one rule of law that used to exist in New Zealand ! | John |
| Sounds more like Labour wants to muzzle ” free ” speech if ” they ” do not like what one is saying or writing . Long live the ” little Red Book ” – ( Tui ad – yeah right ) | Logan |
| Without free communication the tyranny of apartheid will have free reign | Nigel |
| No because it is Orwellian. | Ray |
| Who would want to support Labour in anything | Graham |
| Draconian,, Marxist action to make democratic New Zealand disappear. | Paul |
| Just more control from Wellington over out lives. Where will it end? | Andrew |
| Outrageous totalitarian deception | Ian |
| No – I see this as an underhand method to suppress the growing resistance to the apartheid being implemented by the NZ labour government | Ihaia |
| BLOODY RIDICULOUS !!!! | Richard |
| No but I strongly support the motion to remove Labour from power and charge all its MP’s with treason. | Richard |
| not the way its setup.. better free speech, & judged case by case if need be. | Chris |
| It takes one to know one. Labour hates decent NZers. | Robert |
| Definitely not, this once again smacks of authoritarianism from this clown show of a government | Jeffrey |
| stinks of Nazi socialism | Rob |
| They are not to be trusted to do the right thing for all NZ. | Barras |
| Orwellian | tom |
| Controlling peoples speech goes against all morals. | Peter |
| It is an utterly Orwellian proposal which chisels at the foundations of democracy in support the communist ideals of the most inept bunch of moronic, third form level ideologues this country has ever seen. | Bob |
| We don’t need hate speech laws | Clive |
| Control of speech is a standard move by Marxists in the course of their take over. It goes hand in glove with gun control. | Ronmac |
| The law will be simply used to stifle opposing views to the governments views quite Orwellian | Wayne |
| The truth is that Labour, beholden to its light brown rump, hates any speech that does not agree with its communist agenda. And wants to punish anyone with the guts to call it out | Philip |
| It stinks of strengthening the Apartheid direction we are heading in, and controlling free speech. | Robert |
| NO NO NO! Our ancestors fought for our freedom in two world wars, the last thing we need is this disgustingly corrupt, Maori pandering excuse for a government to flush it all down the toilet in just six years – less time than it took to fight those two wars. Labour and ALL their disgustingly selfish and corrupt Maori MPs must be removed from government immediately, October can’t come soon enough. | Steve |
| ‘Stupid is as stupid does’ – Mama Gump Labour seem determined to lose this election. | Pam |
| Just another proves to change the way NZ is. This party needs to be beaten in the upcoming election. | Richard |
| The only reason i would support it is if it told them to f— off for ever. | Ross |
| Not necessary | John |
| AN EMPHATIC NO! I was listening to an interview recently and many crucial English words were replaced with maori which destroyed the whole interview because after a couple of replacements I not only lost the context of the session but I stopped listening. I have not listened to any NZ television news for many months preferring to listen/view Aljazeera or BBC. When can we go back to normal dialogue in our media???? | Sharron |
| I am mature enough to make my own assessments when reading or listening to someone else’s opinions. The Govt needs to stay out of my personal space. | DAVID |
| Welcome to communist NZ! I am tired of the apathy of kiwis! Trying to have serious conversations with people about the downfall of this country falls on deaf ears! unless it affects them directly, they don’t want to know! Will we be China 2.0 before kiwis get it? This power grab of humanity could end tmw if everyone stood the fuk up!! | lisa |
| Another bureaucrat to defEAT. | Kevin |
| A huge erosion of our democracy, big brother watching us and people will be afraid to speak openly and a lack of trust will dominate personal relationships | Patricia |
| Democracy includes the right to have your say, no matter how unpopular your view may be to some in our society. We must defend this right with every means at our disposal. Long may we respect Sir Apirana and his upholding of truth. | Alastair |
| Desperate ploy by a sadly pathetic bunch of losers who have the audacity to call themselves a government | Rob |
| it would mean more control over the people | Duncan |
| Read Rowen Atkinsons {More fibular as Mr Bean} brilliant speech on hate speech given some years ago. | Michael |
| What we need is more free speech so it desensitized the easily offended | Louise |
| Agree with me – or else !!! | Ross |
| Who is going to define what hate speech actually is? We are all for freedom of speech. | Jim & Barb |
| A Step to Far… the progress of New Zealand will become non-existent . | ChrisH |
| Absolutely not. | fred |
| Another move in the Maori Agenda for a separatist state. | Derek |
| Absolutely not. When will this madness stop? | Laura |
| This would be a massive leap towards authoritarian dystopia by the fascist leftists. | pavel |
| How about a Regulator to rein in Government corruption instead? | Scott |
| Definitely not this is just going to be a disaster | Peter |
| The Labour party seems convinced they will win despite any actions the take. I can’t help but wonder why. | Marie |
| Not until they come up with an absolutely clear statement of EXACTLY what ‘hate speech’ is, rather than ‘anything we don’t like’ | gail |
| Surely we have too many Bureaucrats. Free speech is a treasure worth keeping | Doug |
| NO! Who decides what is hate as compared to what is the unpalatable statement of an unpalatable FACT? Will the State funded media be subjected to the same scrutiny? GOD DEFEND NEW ZEALAND because the Labour Government wont. | Bruce |
| Not democratic and definitely not a kiwi way to do things. Disgusting suppression of rights by someone who will no doubt enjoy being a bully. | David |
| Absolutely not. This racist government must go come October. Great work Muriel on your mailout scheme,and also cheers to Frank for your “If I wanted NZ to fail” I’m an OAP but do donate when I can and have been wondering if all OAP`s donated say $10.00 twice a year I reckon that would help a lot. So come on OAP`s lets get behind these guys. And remember DO NOT VOTE LABOUR,GREEN OR MAORI IN OCTOBER!!!! | brian |
| How far will this government have to go before New Zealanders wake up and take action? | Rod |
| Not what New Zealanders want. | Howard |
| God help us !!!!!!!!!!! | anthony |
| It will target those who try to oppose selected topics such as Labours’ racist agenda and further erode democracy. | Les |
| never | kevin |
| As an expat South African, it is bizarre to observe how the very people that [quite rightly] disaproved of apartheid so vehimently are implementing exactly the same policies that were tried and failed in the apartheid regime of South Africa. The irony should not be lost. | Geoff |
| It is a blatant attempt to severely limit protests against Government’s Maorification agendas – but not the other way around . Maori can practically say anything they like. Do you know the actual meaning of the word pakeha – widely used by Maori – it is EXTREMELY insulting . Why has it not been outlawed ? Because there are different rules for Maori, they can pretty well say anything they want to and get away with it – and do! | Hugh |
| Another step toward the death of democracy and our right to free speech! | Roger |
| That is the start of yet another slippery slope. Assume the likes of Ardern gets involved. She/they will come with a political agenda, taxpayer funding, a bunch of spin doctors, access to media and control over social media. Never going to happen, I hear some say. I say, “Yeah, right!” We’re all just turkeys in the Tax Farm, and this is yet another invitation to Christmas dinner. | John |
| Never! Big brother ( Labour, Greens, Maori Party ) hopefully this is the final nail in the coffin and all NZrs have awoken. 84% of us are controlled while Maori seem to get a free pass. No democracy here. | Allan |
| Do you need to ask this question? | Vic |
| This country is on the road to ruin. To give the governance of a modern western democracy into the hands of people who are still rooted in their stone-age beliefs of ‘heritage’, and hold very strongly racist views, is nothing short of lunacy! New Zealand will become a world laughing-stock if we persist in this. | TOBY |
| Of course not, whoever is selected would be as biased as the current race relations clown | Terry |
| Animal Farm – seizing their moment in race to the bottom. (absolutely no disrespect to our real Porcine partners) | Graeme |
| no | Wiremu |
| This is not the former EAst Germany! We don’t need our own Stasi! | Allan |
| No, No No !! NZ has enough dim witted regulators, already. | Pierre |
| Creating a fertile field for abuse of power. | Nick |
| Bob McCoskrie said that “hate speech” is speech that they (the Left) hate! | Jane |
| But I don’t like fake news | Diane |
| This is blatant tyranny to control the people, though most of the people are asleep to the 1984 creep. Lots of alarm bells need to be set off otherwise you can kiss your remaining freedoms goodbye! | alan |
| The nazi’s attempted this in the 30-40’s. | Jules |
| Unwanted, unnecessary and smacks of authoritarian intent. Does this government have no shame? Even Stalin would be impressed with the socialist progress of this administration. | chris |
| Labour seem to be the party exuding hate – so much hate. Hate against free speech, hate against churches and families, hate against New Zealand history and worst of all hate against togetherness within our society, breeds and creeds! Sadly now there seems to be a hate against law and order, quality education and the general New Zealand health system with, it seems, “We will decide what is good for you; your health, your environment AND your mode of transport.” It seems those few controlling Labour want TOTAL control over all New Zealand citizens! Beware New Zealand! | Stuart |
| where is common sense when ideas like this threaten. | Catherine |
| NO,NO,NO | DELLREA |
| This silly idea should be scrapped entirely. | Sheila |
| More Bureaucracy – less freedom – more rules – Get rid of BIG BROTHER!!!!!~ | David |
| No no no | Jan |
| Just a ploy by Labour in a effort to hide their manipulation of our current laws…. | Carl |
| WE need free speech, not Government control. We have laws to deal with libel and slander and do not need Government ‘Gestapo’ to interfere. They have problems of their own with ministers who will not tell the truth. | Harvey |
| Not needed | Gary |
| not necessary | Anne |
| Roll on October when we can get rid of this lot. | Neville |
| absolute power corrupts absolutely | Gavin |
| Mixture of communism and naziism | bill |
| NO, We don’t need this crap, come on people of this country there’s an election coming lets all get together and VOTE these wankers out and keep them out once and for all. This is a total load of shit and why the hell should we let a few of the population 15% if you’re lucky make these types of laws to make the rest of us shut up and allow them to just do what they want, there is just far to much of this shit being pushed on to us and it about time it stops, and the only way to stop them is to vote them out, (THEY HAVE TO GO.) If they don’t go this country won’t be worth jack shit and won’t be worth living here as its going to be come another SOUTH AFRICA and look what happened there. | COLIN |
| comply because this poll would be classed as being hateful. | mike |
| Non no no | Heather |
| Definitely not now not ever. | Dianne |
| Surely there are far more pressing problems than this rubbish. Why are we wasting time and money even discussing such nonsense is beyond me. Let’s have some practicality for a change. | Don |
| I don’t trust Labour to do anything. They are not trustworthy. | Jo |
| Absolutely not. We came to NZ as a wonderful country but it is now going rapidly downhill | Gareth |
| Absolutely not | Valda |
| claptrap | Brian |
| Never! | Pam |
| IT is Crazy and controlling. | david |
| What a waste of time and effort | Carl |
| Common Sense Must prevail | john |
| No I do not. This is an over regulated country weighed down by BS. | Chris |
| Freedom of speech is a right and shouldn’t be regulated by law. | Anthony |
| Free and open speech allows the issues to be aired. We may not like what another is saying, but if we can all express how we feel or see the world then we can begin a conversation to try and understand each other. | Rockit |
| Just an attack on Free Speech | Mike |
| Freedom of expression is article (14) in the N.Z . Bill of Rights Act 1990. Which I suggest people should remind them selves & read it & you will see how you all got screwed over with the Covid 19 vaxx’s & lock downs. | Allen |
| Nothing that includes honouring a false interpretation of the Treaty makes sense in a modern nation | Mark |
| They only want speech that favours Labour. | Graham |
| Why would they?Everything they have promised, they have stuffed up,why would this be any different? The current anti Ukraine stories reported on TV are someone’s opinion, even if I don’t agree with them,I agree with their right to express it. | Peter |
| without freedom of speech democracy dies | john |
| it’s not protecting us it’s censoring us. | Graeme |
| Every one is entitled to an opinion. | Ann |
| Good God.NO | David |
| 1984’s new version. | Bryan |
| Way too far reaching. Another crack in our democracy. | Heather |
| I definitely do not support Labours plan to introduce hate speech legislation. | john |
| Wake up everybody! | Wietske |
| Good grief NO!! They have made so many attacks on our freedoms and their racial policies are SO bad that most of us are just waiting for October 14th. | Roger |
| Hell no! | Bryan |
| Of course not. Further madness from the lefties, dividing people by muzzling them. It is extremely difficult to determine what hate speech is and I for one would rather see/hear any enemies than have them hidden. | Scott |
| Labour and the associated scum ie Maori and left wing women journalists who actually hate the white population , will just further criticize white only supposed comments . THe fact that the race relations wanker Mr BUFFOON shows anything including killing of whites is deemed not hateful , Shows what a culture of anti european mentality prevails . Labour and likeminded bottom feeders must have their bubble burst this election ,otherwise I believe a revolt amongst the idiots currently in power will surely happen . Vote wisely Kiwis . | Ray |
| It has proved impossible to legally define “hate speech” in any way that threatening speech is not already covered by current laws. Some “definitions” of “hate speech” include anything that “causes offence”, which is purely subjective. I found Ardern’s speeches offensive. Does that mean they are “hate speech” ? | doug |
| God Save the PUBLIC | Peter |
| What’s happening to the “freedom of speech” which is enshrined in our Bill of Rights? Or is that being ridden roughshod over by this “woke” government, aided and abetted – and perhaps controlled by – the Maori caucus? | Laurence |
| Why on earth should any human being not have the right to express an opinion, even if that opinion might be offensive to some people? Why is one man, or woman, to hold such authority over a whole nation as to what they can and cannot freely say without fear of arrest, incarceration/fines and the fear of jeopardising their job or career? When George Orewll wrote 1984 back in 1949, it was viewed as a dystopian hellish nightmare. Now more than 70 years on, we are seeing it actually becoming a reality. | Kevin |
| Kiwi’s need to stand up and be counted, and the only way to do that is to get these publications out to every New Zealander, so they can see them in BLACK and WHITE! | William |
| It will become a crime to have an opinion. | Brian |
| It would only be used to stifle criticism of the Govt or outlandish Maori demands. | Peter |
| Free Speech should never be compromised. It is our born given right | Martin |
| The Ministry of Truth (had) three slogans: WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY and IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. 1984 in 2023 Control the media, you control the mind. | Peter |
| Totalitarianism dressed up as hate speech laws. Frightening | Richard |
| Regulating the NO DISCUSSION put upon us by this ‘government’ of incredible destruction of New Zealand | Peter |
| Racism under another name | Grant |
| We need free speech | Dave |
| Yet another mass control tactic being exhibited by the most communistic government in the free world and driven with additional racist bigotry. | Mike |
| I don’t support Labour (communists) full stop. If ‘we the people’ don’t unite and push back, we will all be confined to gulags (15 min cities) in the blink of an eye. | neil |
| We’ve already introduced the internationally-despised apartheid system. Why make it worse? | john |
| It is the end to our Human Right to free speech. We already have laws to limit the extremes (inciting violence) and these should be used. We do NOT need know draconian censorship laws | Ken |
| But Labour’s propaganda has seeped into all vestiges of national and local government anyway – getting it out is going to be a major challenge, if ever. | john |
| Certainly Not!! | Robyn |
| Just another Liebour/Maori/Green parties’ tactic to stop the truth being known. | Wayne |
| Free Speech is the spine of democracy | Sharon |
| This is frightening neoMarxist Orwellian legislation that has no part in a democratic society -it is totally outrageous | Hylton |
| Control control their mantra. | phil |
| This cannot be allowed to go through. The objective is for totalitarian control to suit the political outcomes of those minorities who want an absolute free run at cementing their causes in place over and above the common sense of the majority. it’s typical of socialists who want to have central control through giant bureaucracies that in the end are more concerned with their inhouse comforts at the expense of delivering proper services to us citizens from whom these drone like beings derive their inflated incomes. | Garry. |
| Freedom of speech is the most basic HUMAN RIGHT. Just who do these clowns think they are? | John |
| ROD | |
| Talk about a distraction from things that need attention like government money wasting | Keren |
| More authoritarian garbage from inexperienced, racist, minsters | John |
| NO, NO. A THOUSAND TIMES NO. When freedom of speech goes, society is lost forever. | Marion |
| I WANT TO CRITISE POLITICS AND PEOPLE WHEN THEY ARE WRONG | stee |
| “NO” (really loudly) | Coral |
| Labour needs to get out of our lives | Stephen |
| Unnecessary and has become divisive within New Zealand. All road signs can be read or understood by 99.9% of the NZ population. Additional waste of money as well. | Bill |
| This is certainly Orwellian, a totalitarian, apartheid government intention total control and decimation of NZ’s Health, education and economy. Shame on them. I look upon it as treason, starting with Adern. | Andrew |
| How could anyone support anything this band of incompetent lunstics dream up. Worst government ever been in NZ. | Peter |
| Hateful regulator. | Mark |
| this is another ploy to control the narrative of NZ and to bring New Zealanders under state direction with the labour politicians in particular thinking they have all the answers This hate speech regulator shows how controlling this particular government is and the massive disruption it will cause to our way of life, is not an option | jenny |
| Aprtheid to support elite Maoris is not wanted in NZ | Arthur |
| This is an unacceptable and unwanted intrusion against freedom of speech and expression. | Peter |
| With our current crop of unhinged, far-Left nutters steering NZ towards disaster, it would be tantamount to giving a fox unrestricted access to “guard” the henhouse. | Derek |
| It is more than hate speech – it can include offensive speech or any speech the regulator wants to control | David |
| I’m absolutely opposed. This plan must be stopped in its tracks if we are to remain a democracy. | Trevor |
| Definitely No. Free speech is the bastion of democracy. The problem nowadays is not the speech, but the intolerance of a noisy few. | David |
| Criminal insanity! | Grant |
| No, no, no! There should be less regulation, not more! | Danny |
| Absolutely not. NZ is already highly regulated. We do need any more regulation. | Murray |
| Protecting our right to free speech is why we need to defeat Labour at the election. And the Greens. And the Maori Party. | Barbara |
| We need a big brother regulator like a hole in the head! And as far as those bilingual traffic signs are concerned – what moron decided on those??? | Simon |
| Great article Frank – and great Treaty project Muriel. | Jason |