Countering Hate Speech Aotearoa (CHSA) plans to undertake the work on hate speech laws that was to be performed by the Law Commission.

Yesterday, Paul Goldsmith the Minister of Justice announced that he had directed the Law Commission to not advance with the work on preparing a report on the adoption of hate speech laws in Aotearoa. The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terrorist attack on Christchurch Mosques recommended that Aotearoa adopt tightly scoped anti-hate speech laws. The Law Commission’s planned work was an important step on the journey to the implementation of such laws. The Law Commission’s work is renowned worldwide for its quality, objectivity, and analytical rigour.

The chief executive of CHSA Paul Thistoll says: “To announce this decision just days after the 5th anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks shows the coalition Government’s callous disregard for the expert recommendations of the Royal Commission. Furthermore, it is an insult to everyone who was affected by the Christchurch atrocities.”

Mr Thistoll further says: “CHSA believes in tightly scoped hate speech laws that balance freedom of expression against the human right to be free from the chilling effect of hate speech directed towards oneself. So that hope remains that one day the recommendations of the Royal Commission may be implemented CHSA is planning to write the report on adopting hate speech laws ourselves. We will attempt to be as objective and analytical as possible to produce a report of the highest quality that can be delivered to public servants and lawmakers”.

“Writing this report will cost in the vicinity of $200k and we are currently in talks with institutional donors to meet this cost. Additionally, we are talking with a high-profile legal academic who would lead the work and ensure its high quality.”

Countering Hate Speech Aotearoa (CHSA) is a non-profit organisation formed to promote anti-hate speech legislation in Aotearoa, support organisations on hate speech topics, and ensure professionals do not veer into hate speech in their professional lives. We have a focus on LGBTQIA+ issues, with a particular interest in the rights of transgender, intersex, gender-diverse, gender-queer and non-binary people.

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