Andrew Little: Push to curb hate speech being driven by religious groups

Published: Sept. 24, 2020, 9:27 p.m.

The push to crack down on hate speech is being driven by religious groups.
Labour's pledging to strengthen laws around religious discrimination, if re-elected next month.
Justice Minister Andrew Little told Mike Hosking after the mosque shootings, some groups have shared their experiences, and how they've been affected.
"Here's what we hear calling out to us on the street, here's what we see written on signs, and some of it is pretty egregious stuff."
He does admit that politicians have to be careful when drafting laws like this, because of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act, which protects some rights and freedoms.
"The law is very important, but that's why you put around a paper that says 'here's a way of looking at' before you get to the law draft, because if you don't get agreement on the underlying policy, then there's no point in drafting a law."