The Human Rights Commission wants the government to consider changing the law to protect religious groups against hate speech. Justice minister Andrew Little has announced he will be fast-tracking a review of the laws. However, unlike changes to gun laws, which look set to pass with near unanimity, changes to hate speech legislation could be Read more
Labour backbencher Louisa Wall, is looking at the possibility of drafting legislation that would impose a “duty of care” on media organisations. In June she told the Herald on Sunday she would like a “duty of care” clause added to the Bill of Rights Act, so people could be held accountable for their use of free Read more
Canadian Lauren Southern, described as a “far-right political activist, internet personality, and journalist associated with the alt-right,” is advertising a show in Auckland. She was banned from entering the UK in March after antagonising Muslims by displaying flyers reading “Allah is a Gay God” and “Allah is trans.” Unlike in the UK, a hate speech Read more
New Zealand’s Race Relations Commissioner says religious leaders should be using their considerable powerful platforms to promote tolerance and peace across our communities. “Whether it’s a mosque giving Holocaust deniers a platform or whether it’s an evangelical church spewing hatred about gay New Zealanders: this is not how we roll here. This is not who we Read more
At the same time as the Race Relations Commissioner is encouraging religious leaders to take a stand against hate speech, the head of the Anglican Church in New Zealand has spoken out about the stance taken against gay and lesbian clergy by Bishop Brian Tamaki, the leader of the Destiny Church. During a sermon last Read more
Police will not be charging an Auckland pastor who said gay couples deserved a bullet in the head. A police spokesperson said on Thursday they had finished making inquiries into a video of Logan Robertson, pastor at Westcity Bible Church in Avondale, making “concerning comments” and would not be charging him with an offence. Continue reading Robertson Read more
The Indonesian bishops’ conference has backed a government minister’s appeal against hate sermons that promote religious or ethnic intolerance. Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, issued the appeal on April 28. It contained nine points targeted at religious preachers and the broader public. Bishop Yohanes Harun Yuwono of Tanjungkarang, chairman of the Commission for Ecumenical Read more
The Human Rights Commission says it does not want a change to hate speech laws – as high-profile New Zealanders warn freedom of speech is under threat in the country’s universities. Human Rights Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy this year called for politicians and others to address hate speech, saying “we need people at the very Read more
A cardinal who denounced the threat to the family from a “gay empire” has been deemed by a Spanish judge not to have committed a hate speech crime. Cardinal Antonio Cañizares of Valencia made this denunciation in a homily on May 13. In his preaching, the cardinal also listed gender theory as among the threats Read more
LGBT and feminist activists want to have a Spanish cardinal penalised for hate speech after he said a “gay empire” is one of the threats to the family. On May 13, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares of Valencia delivered a homily in which he stated the family has become a target in various ways. “The family is Read more