Statement from Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon:

The government needs to act with greater urgency when it comes to proposed hate speech legislation, according to Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon.

Last year the Government released proposals to strengthen laws against incitement of hatred and discrimination and invited the public to have their say.

Foon says the Government now appears to be dragging its heels on the matter.

“We have been waiting nearly three years for hate speech legislation to be strengthened in order to protect our communities. With public consultations finished, the Government must keep up the momentum.”

The Commissioner says he is disappointed with the slow response to the implementation of what was a Royal Commission of Inquiry recommendation after the March 15 terror attacks.

“Implementation of such recommendations is a very serious matter. It needs to happen so we can learn from the mistakes of the past and make sure they don’t happen again.”

Foon says he has written to all the ministers involved, with mixed responses and only some replying.

“If I, as a Commissioner tasked with following up these matters, cannot get a response, what hope is there for our concerned communities?”

He says there were promises to review hate speech but now the Government seems to be stating it is politically too hard to deal with.

The Commissioner’s comments come after the Minister of Justice Kris Faafoi said over the weekend that much care needed to be taken because "we also don't want to inflame the very issue that we are trying to fix here".

However, Foon agrees with community advocates who have said that hate has been allowed to fester and grow and some groups do not feel protected. He says for this reason the Government cannot shirk its duties.

“Yes, it is political to implement and make laws, but that is the job of the Government – to make difficult decisions,” says Foon.

With delays in the process, the Commissioner is hoping a delivery date can be given for strengthening hate speech laws.

“Every day our communities wait and the risk of more events triggered or incited by hate increases. We have had meetings galore; my suggestion is less meeting and more getting on with making Aotearoa a safer place.”

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