Dr David Cumin
Spokesperson
Free Speech Union
Last week the Free Speech Union stepped in to assist a University Lecturer’s fight for academic freedom, against the University of Waikato attempts to stop him from describing religious fanatics who claim that the Earth is flat, and that people lived alongside dinosaurs as “cranks”.
The Free Speech Union was approached by Dr Richards, one of our members, who took issue with the University’s policing of his language. Our lawyers sent a letter to the University reminding it of their responsibility to uphold academic freedom and advising that Dr Richards intended to give the same lecture that Friday.
We’ve posted the background to the case, and the lawyers letter here.
I’m pleased to report that the University appears to have done a U-turn on their treatment of Dr Richards – a small but significant victory to tell the tertiary sector that we are watching…
Academics Turn on Colleagues for Listener Letter Claiming Maori Knowledge Is Not Science
You may have seen the media coverage of the seven prestigious academics who penned a letter to the Listener Magazine and argued that while matauranga Maori (Maori knowledge) contributes to our understanding of the world, “it falls far short of what we can define as science”.
The New Zealand Association of Scientists, Tertiary Education Union, Royal Society, and the Universities fell over themselves to condemn the letter. Apparently, academic freedom no longer extends to promoting the objective truth of science.
Click here to read the Herald coverage, and judge for yourself whether what the academics said is acceptable (click for larger image).
Our Academic Advisory Committee swung into action and have defended the freedom of the academics and issued this statement.
Police Already Overstepping the Mark with Hate Speech
The hate speech laws haven’t even been passed yet but police are already out on our streets deciding what constitutes ‘hate speech’.
A video posted on social media playform “TikTok” by StreetpreachingNZ shows the Christian preacher group’s interaction with a police officer on Auckland’s K road.
@jesuspreachingnz Persecuted for the gospel ! #police #nzpolice #nz #auckland #queenstreet #kroad #fyp #tiktok #christiantiktokcomunity #duet #christian #preaching
? original sound – STREETPREACHINGNZ
In the video, the officer tells them “there is a difference between preaching and hate speech and you are very close to crossing the line”. He follows up with “What you guys are saying is very subjective and saying it to people up here could be taken… in a way likely to incite violence, okay?”
Newshub reports that the Police were responding to a breach of the peace. What this video demonstrates is that even a discussion of a law change can affect the policing of other laws.
This is a disturbing omen of things to come and reminds us of the U.K’s policing of ‘Non-Crime Hate Incidents’.
The Government has failed to state clearly where it draws the line with speech it intends to criminalise, preferring to tell us that we ‘’know it when we see it’. But it will inevitably fall to the police to define that line as they try to enforce these proposals
Imam Mustenser Qamar Joins Dane Giraud for This Week’s Free Speech Union Podcast
This week on the Free Speech Union podcast Imam Mustenser Qamar – a representative of Wellington’s Ahmadiyya Muslim community – returns to discuss alternatives to ‘Hate Speech’.
The Imam runs a variety of educational initiatives such as the “I’m a Muslim. Ask me Anything” campaign, which he sees as a far more productive strategy for combating bigotry and misunderstanding than the Government’s proposed ‘hate speech’ laws. Imam Mustenser has also attended several of the Ministry of Justice’s workshops and reports back for us with his post-hui concerns around the impact of the proposed laws on religious freedoms.
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