Free speech in NZ may be gone as a New Year’s gift 2008
Posted by: Julie in Feminism, Legal Information, News
YOU CAN’T SAY THAT!: The Government’s Electoral Finance Bill is being called the most serious attack on democracy and free speech in New Zealand since the country was colonized. If passed, it will make newsletters like The Briefing illegal if they touch in any way on political issues. Likewise, personal emails that you send to your friends and colleagues could likewise be decreed illegal by police and you could be prosecuted. Don’t believe me? Read the submissions from the NZ Law Society and Kiwiblog’s David Farrar in the latest issue of Investigate and see for yourself just how draconian these laws will be if we let the government put them into effect on January 1 next year. There is something else you can do: the weakest links in this unprecedented grab for power are the minor parties locked into coalition with the Government, New Zealand First, the Greens and United Future. It is possible that if enough New Zealanders email them to let them know how they feel about the proposed law changes, those MPs will get the message and drop their support for the Electoral Finance Bill. If all of you who feel strongly about this new law go to the front page of the main Investigate website, http://www.investigatemagazine.com you will see two email links to send a message to politicians: one goes to NZ First/United Future MPs, the other to Green MPs. People power can change this.
Once free speech is gone, it’s gone. Don’t let it go. Do it for your children’s rights at least. It is not hard to write to a politician. They are just an everyday person like yourself. Give it a go.
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