07th May 2005

Human Rights Commission “Spins” on Hate Speech

Christian Heritage NZ says a media release put out by the Human Rights Commission contained so much “spin” it was misleading. The media release published yesterday was made in association with their submission to the “hate speech” inquiry. It was headlined as if the Commission believed the situation regarding freedom of speech in New Zealand was “about right”. The opening text also suggested that the Commission was only seeking minor tweaking to the existing laws. However the second to last paragraph showed the Commission had a very different agenda and was in fact seeking significant changes to the law – including new criminal legislation to outlaw “hate speech” on the grounds of religion and sexual orientation.

CHNZ leader Ewen McQueen said

“There is so much ‘spin’ in this media release it could have been a gyroscope. The whole tenor of the release is aimed at conveying the impression that the Commission is seeking little change. However the reality is quite the opposite. They are absolutely committed to pushing through hate speech legislation that will see decent law abiding citizens being dragged before the courts, simply for expressing valid political or religious opinions.”

The CHNZ leader said it was difficult to believe the Commission could be trusted to protect human rights when it couldn’t even present itself to the public in a straightforward manner.

ENDS

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