Politicians urged to revisit hate speech recommendations

A report by the Law Commission on its review of hate crime laws was tabled in Parliament on July 22. The Commission found that hate crime laws are not working well in practice, but the existing legal framework should be improved rather than creating new offences.

Commissioner Mark Hickford said Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith in March 2024 “requested that the review of hate speech be withdrawn from the Law Commission’s work programme”.

“The minister asked that we conduct a narrower review of the law relating to hate crime, focusing on whether the law should be changed to create standalone hate crime offences (as recommended by the Royal Commission),” Mr Hickford said.

Federation of Islamic Associations (FIANZ) spokesperson Abdur Razzaq said it is well known that there is a direct connection between hate speech and hate crime, citing the statements by the Royal Commission and the Human Rights Commission.

“The latest police data is there’s one hate crime against a Muslim . . . every 54 hours,” Mr Razzaq said.

The data he referred to points to a 7 per cent increase in recorded hate crimes against Muslims in New Zealand – the most targeted religious group – from 2024 to 2025.

Mr Razzaq said New Zealand has had hate speech legislation since 1993, but it does not cover faith. He acknowledged the right to freedom of speech, but noted that there are limits to this in nations such as the US.

Mr Goldsmith said the Government would consider the Law Commission’s recommendations “in due course”.

“We’re making good progress, but there’s still lots more work to do,” he said.

Mr Goldsmith said the Government’s primary focus was on reducing the number of victims of crime.

The Law Commission said many, including communities directly affected by the Christchurch attack, raised concerns that were acknowledged in the report.

“But it is not our role to make recommendations outside our terms of reference,” Mr Hickford said.

Political parties had mixed stances on hate speech reform, with the Greens and Te Pāti Māori saying they supported legislating against hate speech, National saying it did not, ACT calling for more enforcement of current laws and Labour promising to share a detailed policy in due course. NZ First did not respond at the time.

FULL STORY

‘Oozing pain’: Plea for politicians to tackle hate speech (By Russell Palmer/Radio New Zealand)

Law Commission urges stronger hate crime laws, not new offences (Radio New Zealand)