“The past week has seen Universities finally showing leadership on free speech, after a period of disappointing acquiescence to the hecklers’ veto,” says Act Leader David Seymour.

“The University of Auckland’s Vice Chancellor, Stuart McCutcheon, had to defend the rights of students to say some pretty tawdry things, but he stood on principle. Good on him.

“Massey University has done the right thing standing up for the right of a feminist speaker to appear on their campus. This is particularly significant after the Massey Vice Chancellor last year misused health and safety concerns to prevent Don Brash speaking on campus.

“It may sound extraordinary that feminists have to fight for the right to speak at a university in 2019, but Massey is absolutely right in resisting pressure to silence Canadian Megan Murphy from speaking on their campus. They should keep resisting that pressure.

“Freedom of speech is half about what the law is, and half about the leadership shown in institutions such as universities. Let us hope that this week’s leadership in our universities is a sign of things to come."

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