Maybe I focus too much on bad news here, for example in last years post listing proposed bans which got a lot of attention and even was quoted in NZ’s biggest newspaper. And there is a lot of bad news to go around, especially with Labour’s proposed new election spending – or “democracy rationing” reforms. But in an effort to redress the balance, heres some good news for freedom in New Zealand:
- The anti-smacking bill. In response to massive public opposition, the government failed to get the bill placed under urgency – its supporting parties felt it would be undemocratic and an abuse of urgency provisions. The government also failed to take on Sue Bradford’s private bill as their own, delaying it even further.
- The census court case. Libertarianz member Nik Haden burned his census form at our protest last year. He cross-examined Statistics NZ and got them to admit that 92,000 people didn’t fill in a form, 3000 refused outright and just 72 were being prosecuted. They also admitted that forcing Nik to fill in the form would serve no purpose, because it could not be added to the final result. The judge complimented Nik’s “grand argument” and agreed to consider whether the Statistics Act contradicted the Bill of Rights, specifically freedom of expression.
- Sedition. The Law Commission has recommended the abolition of seditious offences in the Crimes Act, calling them unnecessary and a threat to freedom of speech. Sedition was in the news after Tim Selwyn got two months for it after breaking a window at the PM’s office – he wasn’t punished for the vandalism, but for issuing a press release about it! No Right Turn has done a lot of research into the historical abuses of sedition against freedom of speech. Ironically many of the New Zealanders who were once charged with sedition became Labour Party MPs and ministers in the 30s and 40s, but most recently it has been used against an opponent of Labour. Short memories…
- Auckland’s proposed billboard ban. Overwhelming public opposition expressed in nearly 1500 submissions has forced the council to reconsider plans to ban billboards and tightly regulate signage in the central city. A victory for freedom of expression!
- “Democracy rationing”. Labour, financially crippled by having to repay $800,000 in illegally spent taxpayer funds, proposed to take us one step closer to a one-party state. Their proposal would distribute $10 million to parties before each election, giving the largest share to itself, and restricting third-party groups from advertising – with an exception for (Labour-supporting) unions. Now the bid is set to collapse due to lack of support from minor parties, and Crown Law has questioned whether third-party restrictions would violate the Bill of Rights. Another small victory for freedom of speech!
- Best of all: Labour’s support is plummeting. Not that National would be much better, but its time for a change, and they could hardly be worse.
