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The Human Rights Commission & Free Speech

14/6/2018

4 Comments

 
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By Olivia Pierson
[First published on Incite Politics 7/6/18]

This week on Tuesday 5th June, Chris Lynch of Newstalk ZB took on the topic of free speech, and specifically the Human Rights Commission’s stance on it.  Chris had as his guests two Kiwis who write regularly and penetratingly on the topic: Lindsay Perigo and Professor Paul Moon. 

It was most heartening to hear this issue dissected so directly by a host who has the rare ability to listen attentively and ask intelligent questions.  No issue is more important in this country, or indeed in any Western country, than this one.  It simply cannot be discussed enough at this time when it is under such open attack.  

Professor Moon, in reference to the Human Rights Commission’s report last year to the UN, says what it represents is a “damaging change to our society,” since it wants to impose penalties in NZ law for criticising certain religions of ethnic minorities, yet the only religion that is mentioned in the report is Islam. Moon points out that the Commission is acting in a discriminatory way and is potentially in breach of its own act.  
“It’s tying itself up in knots in order to not look like it’s trying to achieve what it’s trying to achieve,” Moon said.

The report seeks to outlaw what it refers to as “disharmonious speech” directed at the religions of minorities. 

Professor Moon’s main contention with the Commission’s report is that it is “hugely dangerous” and damaging to a society when power is given to one particular group which feels that someone has spoken in a “disharmonious” way about them. 

What exactly is the definition of disharmonious speech and how would it be applied? Moon emailed one of the solicitors at the HRC to ask this specific question.  The response was: “the question doesn’t make sense.”

Chris Lynch said that he had invited the HRC to be on the broadcast and be part of the discussion, but they had declined to be involved while at the same time saying they were happy to be part of the debate.

Lynch quoted one of the recommendations of the report to Lindsay Perigo: 

“The committee urges the NZ government to review the adequacy of the current structures and processes to respond appropriately to NZ’s changing demographics…. the provisions are therefore unable to be utilised in respect to religious hate speech directed at Muslim New Zealanders, who for the most part belong to ethnic minority communities in NZ…”

Lynch asked Perigo what he made of that, while quickly adding that for over a hundred years people have subscribed to Christianity with no problem, “but all of a sudden we are saying that criticising Islam will be off-limits to any critique, what is your view of that?”

Perigo responded:

“And that is exactly its purpose, it’s preferential treatment of Muslims.  It’s protecting Muslims from having their feelings hurt and Muslims will say their feelings are hurt if you say anything critical of their religion, or even draw their prophet because you’re not allowed to depict him visually.”  Perigo continued, “So it takes nothing at all to offend a Muslim and we’ll end up in a situation where people are jailed for having an opinion.”


Perigo opined that all that is necessary to fix all this is that we uphold what we already have in law, and not let it be negated by any other legislation.
​
Article 14 of our Bill of Rights says:

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to seek, to receive and to impart information and opinions of any kind, and in any form.

Salmon Rushdie’s famous dictum, Perigo suggested, should also be emblazoned across the sky, “There’s no such right as the right not to be offended,” along with Voltaire’s
“I disagree with what you say but will fight to the death for your right to say it.”  This is the spirit that has guided us in our civil discourse – and our not so civil discourse – for over a century and it should continue to be that way.


Chris Lynch wondered aloud if the HRC and the Susan Devoys of this world have been influenced too much by Generation Outrage, a generation which needs outrage for a sense of identity, since “everyone wants to be noticed and to be outraged is to be noticed.”

While that insight happens to be quite true, personally I think the situation is the other way around and much more sinister.  As Perigo recalled in a conversation he had a few years back with Susan Devoy, she referred to an attitude (which he couldn’t quite remember the details of) as “stale, male and white.”  Those were the words she actually used. How racist, not to mention sexist, is that?

And that is the essence of what all this implementation of the United Nation’s agenda is all about: the attempt to dismantle “white male” civilisation, which is an attempt to dismantle Western civilisation itself.

If we lose freedom of speech, we will lose all of our precious freedoms and without them our civilisation will be over.

I commend Chris Lynch for caring enough about free speech to keep the topic alive on radio and talkback, especially after what has happened to Tommy Robinson in the UK. 
I want to add: may that never happen here!  But I know it will happen here unless we aggressively fight back and unrelentingly not let this nonsense pass!


If you enjoyed this article, please buy my book "Western Values Defended: A Primer" ​​​​​​​
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4 Comments
Olivia
13/6/2018 09:11:48 pm

The Human Rights Commission responds:

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/...

I am concerned at recurring speculation that the Human Rights Commission is campaigning to limit free speech.

Those who hold this view say we want to ban "disharmonious" or hate speech aimed at certain religions, and to make such comments an offence.

They say we intend to do this in a way that specifically advantages Muslims while disadvantaging other members of our community, particularly those who practise different religions.

Let me be quite clear. There is no such campaign. We do not want, and are not calling for, a ban on speech directed at those who are Muslim.

What we do want is respectful and informed discussion about our current legal frameworks and consideration about whether they are "fit for purpose", particularly in the age of the internet and changing demographics.

The commission has no fixed view about whether any specific law change is necessary or required. But we do have a role in reflecting community questions and concerns and we believe that debate and discourse about all human rights are important in our society. We raised some of these issues in a 2017 submission to the United Nations committee that oversees the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

By way of context, people ask us why the "exciting racial disharmony" provisions of the Human Rights Act apply to some groups and not others.

We are also asked why people who complain to the commission under these provisions are offered mediation but are not able to obtain a decision or finding from us about the substance of their complaint.

The answer is we do not have decision-making or investigative jurisdiction in relation to these cases, nor any other individual discrimination complaint.

At times we get asked about the apparent anomalies between the scope and nature of the Harmful Digital Communications Act and the relevant provisions of the Human Rights Act. These are all good questions - they deserve consideration and discussion.

We have also been criticised in some quarters for arguing in a recent legal case that a very high threshold should be applied when the court is considering potential breaches of existing racial disharmony laws.

The reason the commission took this stance is that we strongly support the right to freedom of speech and expression and believe that there should be legal consequences only for cases at the most serious end of the spectrum. Words or conduct that offend, upset or hurt people's feelings are not of themselves going to fall into this category.

But rights are not absolute and they do not exist in isolation. Individuals have a right to freedom of speech but they also have a right to be physically safe irrespective of personal characteristics such as ethnicity, colour, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Sometimes finding the right balance is difficult. And people have many different views on where the line should be drawn. But we need to keep discussing and debating the issues, and we need to do so in a respectful, dignified and informed manner.

• Paula Tesoriero is the acting Chief Human Rights Commissioner.

Reply
Doug Longmire
16/6/2018 04:11:44 pm

Well, just to take one point Mr Tesoriero, where you say above
"Let me be quite clear. There is no such campaign. We do not want, and are not calling for, a ban on speech directed at those who are Muslim." ,
then how do you explain that the HRC said in it's report to the U.N. last year:-
“The committee urges the NZ government to review the adequacy of the current structures and processes to respond appropriately to NZ’s changing demographics…. the provisions are therefore unable to be utilised in respect to religious hate speech directed at Muslim New Zealanders, who for the most part belong to ethnic minority communities in NZ…” ??

Which is the opposite of what you have said above.

Reply
Doug Longmire
16/6/2018 04:18:30 pm

I also raise this question:-
What actual evidence is there that Muslim people have been subject to "disharmonious speech" to any greater extent than any other religion ? By evidence I mean how many documented instances and also definition of disharmonious speech. Does it mean talking out of tune ?

Reply
Graeme Faulkner
14/7/2018 09:42:23 pm

Susan Devoy came in to the position of Race Relations Commisioner
appointed by Judith Collins without experience or balance on the basis of being good at the game of squash. Blinking like a possum in the headlights she came under attack from Maori activists as they did not know what she stood for either. She quickly fell into line with the Human Rights Commision agenda to survive and it was all one way traffic from then on. Now she has gone no loss at all

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