The Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic
compromised speech rights, especially in healthcare,
academia, and education. The Free Speech Union has submitted
to the Phase 2 of the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCOI)
into the Government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic as
speech rights are cornerstone to ensuring transparency and
trust in public institutions, says Stephanie Martin, the
Free Speech Union’s Stakeholder Relationship
Manager.
“We submitted to ensure to
ensure the Royal Commission recognises the significant
chilling effect that aspects of the Government response had
on open debate, professional dissent, and academic freedom
in New Zealand. Our concerns include the suppression of
dissent, mandates and speech, one-way communication, and
behavioural messaging vs. informed
dialogue.
“Our professional
memberships, such as healthcare professionals, academics,
and teachers, enabled us to highlight specific areas where
speech rights were directly affected and collate feedback
from members of our industry-specific members and Councils.
Their stories provide evidence of the ways many
professionals were silenced, and sometimes faced severe
consequences, for expressing views that differed from the
Government’s.
“Members expressed the lasting
effects this had on their trust and confidence in
Government, professionals, and regulatory bodies such as the
Medical Council. This is in line with cases where the Free
Speech Union is currently defending the speech rights of
healthcare professionals who are under fire from regulatory
bodies for expressing certain views online about Covid-19,
mandates, and vaccines.
“Suppressing legitimate
questions and professional judgments ultimately undermines
public trust and weakens democratic
institutions.”
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