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Hate speech reforms drastically watered down

The Government has scrapped plans to ban violent threats against women and rainbow and disabled communities, Marc Daalder reports

https://www.newsroom.co.nz/hate-speech-reforms-drastically-watered-down

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However, Allan said, the scope of the reforms is now severely curtailed. Only religion will be added to the list of protected grounds and no further changes will be made to hate speech law.

Last year's proposals would have banned threats of violence against many groups of people, like LGBT or disabled people. The 2017 case of homophobic threats by Auckland pastor Logan Robertson, in which he said he was "not against [gay people] getting married as long as a bullet goes through their head the moment they kiss", was cited as the sort of language that would be prohibited.

Under the changes revealed by Allan on Saturday, that statement would still be legal.

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Marc Daalder Wear a Mask

@marcdaalder

https://twitter.com/marcdaalder/status/1593705843928596480

"The Government launched a review of hate speech laws in March 2019. More than three and a half years later, almost all the substantive stuff is now being punted to the Law Commission. Why bother with all that policy work in the meantime?? #nzpol"

My take on all of this...

Maybe the problem is calling the lies "hate speech" instead of declaring the act of lying about a class/group of people as defamation. Introduce a criminal defamation class action where the defamers will be put in front of a Judge.

https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1992/0105/latest/whole.html

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Thanks David. Interesting news, although I find I have to focus on housing, climate and poverty as directly as I can.

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All it needs is a robot skateboard.

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We'll work on that. Thanks Craig.

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The hyper aging article interestingly talked about the dynamics of youth heading to bigger cities and elderly heading to quieter smaller towns. Is not NZ but the little town of the world? I feel like every weekend I’m attending a goodbye event for another friend moving overseas. Just last week it was two of my Irish friends who moved over here 6 years go with a love affair for lotr, both IT professionals, who thought this was there new life. Now with 2 under 2, living in mouldy cold rentals and locked out of buying, they’ve flown back home for cheaper housing and better paying jobs... The more friends who leave, the less daunting leaving connections in NZ becomes. My friends in Melb keep taunting me with pics from the Woolys cheese fridge

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Ha! Yep. It's a very underestimated as a factor in HR. I'm really surprised business leaders are not more vocal about housing costs...

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Hard to be vocal about something they personally benefit from. It’s their land ownership, not their businesses getting them ahead.

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Thank you. Very informative, well-selected and thought-provoking. I read it all. Including all the links. An illuminating highlight of my Sunday.

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Thanks Wendy. Glad they were useful

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