Someone asked me after the debate which “side” I fell on. Did I think free speech was an inviolable right or did I agree some subjects only cause harm and shouldn’t be discussed? He didn’t expect me to say that I don’t believe in free speech at all.

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Nathan Smith is a former business journalist and columnist at the NBR. He also worked as the chief editor at the New Zealand Initiative policy think tank. He is now a freelance writer and copy editor.