In 2018 many supporters of free speech donated to the Free Speech Coalition which was founded as a result of Phil Goff de-platforming Canadian speakers Stephen Molyneux and Lauren Southern and Don Brash being ‘uninvited’ as a speaker by Massey University.
In just a few days, the FSC raised enough money to go to Court to seek an injunction to overturn Phil Goff’s instruction to de-platform the speakers from a council venue that they had booked and paid for.
The court case revealed that Phil Goff had lied. Council officials swore that Phil Goff didn’t do what he publicly said he had done. Instead, health and safety was claimed as being the justification for the cancellation. That plot twist prevented an urgent injunction (as it would require the Court to properly test the evidence about the risks associated with the event).
So instead of Phil Goff banning speakers, the Council invoked the “hecklers veto.” The FSC decided to continue and had a full hearing last year. Sadly a decision was made in favour of Auckland Council.
Judge Jagose has now issued another finding regarding determining the costs judgements for the High Court:
Consistently with my conclusions RFAL exercised no public power in deciding to cancel the event – or public function, power or duty in cancelling the event – the proceeding did not concern any matter of public interest. The applicants’ self-interest, although not disqualifying in itself, here lacked the ‘watchdog’ quality informing public interest considerations on costs, and constituted “something of a crusade” to inject the subject matter of that self-interest into RFAL’s decision-making.
In short, the Judge is saying that standing up for free speech is not in the public interest which is a SHOCKING and bewildering conclusion.
Every environmental nutter or social justice group that goes to court has their costs awards forgone because they are deemed to be acting in the public interest, yet those exact same leniencies applied to tree-huggers and saviours of native snails, do not apply to free speech!
This High Court finding means that it costs MORE to defend free speech than it does the environment or other collective causes.
Incredibly, the fact that thousands of New Zealanders have donated to the cause is not enough evidence of its interest to the public according to Judge Jagose.
The FSC want to demonstrate to the Court of Appeal that not only is this case ‘public interest litigation’ but also that the public supports them.
If you support the Free Speech Coalition court case you can sign this petition that tells that them you’re not in this for personal gain, but out of your sense of public duty to defend free speech
Free speech dies in silence. This petition will make sure that they hear you.
“I support the Free Speech litigation as I believe it is in the public interest. I stand to gain no personal benefit, but have supported the Free Speech Coalition out of a public duty to uphold the fundamental human right to free speech in New Zealand.”