16 October 2026
Police say they are “looking
into” comments made at a Christchurch rally last Saturday,
where Free Palestine Party president Paul Hopkinson said his
party wanted to acknowledge the “victory” of October 7.
The party’s statement of 8 October said it “celebrates
the Victory of the courageous resistance fighters of the
Gaza Strip on October 7th”.
On 7 October 2023,
Hamas-led attacks killed about 1,200 people in Israel, most
of them civilians, and took more than 250
hostages.
Free Speech Union co-founder Dr David Cumin
says police are right to check whether a crime has been
committed, but they need to look in the right
place.
“If police believe anyone was threatened or
incited to violence, the Crimes Act covers that and they
should use it. If not, the police’s job is
done.”
“What police and politicians shouldn’t do
is reach for the hate speech provisions in sections 61 and
131 of the Human Rights Act. Those sections turn on whether
words are ‘abusive or insulting’ and bring a group into
‘contempt’. That’s 1970s wording, and it asks police
and courts to decide how offensive speech is, not whether it
threatens or incites violence. Vague, subjective tests like
that shouldn’t be the basis of criminal charges in New
Zealand.”
“Section 14 of the Bill of Rights Act
protects the right to say things other people find
offensive. Whether people hear these comments as offensive,
wrong or ignorant of what happened that day, they should be
argued with, not prosecuted. Report what the party said,
challenge it, and put questions to the Green MP who
attended. Voters can judge it at the ballot box.”
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Dr
Cumin says New Zealand shouldn’t follow overseas
jurisdictions down this path.
“Scotland’s police
received more than 7,000 reports in the first week of its
Hate Crime Act. There’s little evidence these laws reduce
hatred or violence. And minorities and dissenters are often
the ones caught by them, the very people they are meant to
protect. Jewish and Muslim New Zealanders both have a stake
in keeping speech free.”
“Yesterday we said the
same about the charges against Brian Tamaki. The principle
doesn’t change depending on who is speaking. Threats and
incitement belong under the Crimes Act, and everything else
should be met with
argument.”
Notes:
Comments reported by chrislynchmedia.com,
15 October 2026: “Police examining Free Palestine
Party’s October 7 ‘victory’ public
comments”.
Sections 61 and 131 of the Human Rights
Act 1993 cover threatening, abusive or insulting words
likely to excite hostility against, or bring into contempt,
a group because of its colour, race, or ethnic or national
origins. Section 61 is a civil provision; section 131 is a
criminal offence needing the Attorney-General’s consent (s
132), which is usually given by the Solicitor-General. The
wording traces back to the Race Relations Act
1971.
Between July 2018 and May 2022 there were 10
prosecutions under section 131 and 4 convictions (Ministry
of Justice, 2022).
The Crimes Act 1961 already covers
inciting any person to commit an offence (ss 66(1)(d),
311(2)) and threatening to kill or do grievous bodily harm
(s 306).
Police Scotland recorded 7,152 online reports
in the first week of the Hate Crime and Public Order
(Scotland) Act 2021, 1 to 7 April 2024.
Mchangama and
Alkiviadou, “A Cure Worse than the Disease”, 6 Journal
of Free Speech Law 1183 (2026), found “little evidence
that the criminalization of hate speech reduces hatred or
violence”.
The Free Speech Union’s briefing for
MPs says threats, violence, harassment and incitement to
violence should be dealt with directly, without new hate
speech offences. The No Blasphemy Laws campaign: noblasphemylaw.nz
The
Free Speech Union is not representing Paul Hopkinson or the
Free Palestine Party.
About the Free Speech
Union
The Free Speech Union defends the right of New
Zealanders, left, right and centre, to speak, debate, and
disagree freely. A registered trade union and
membership-based organisation, we take cases, run campaigns,
and educate on the importance of free expression in a
functioning democracy. More at fsu.nz.
