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Okay, have at me
By Steven | May 11, 2008
This blog is mostly about free speech. It should be becoming clear that my philosophy is that freedom of expression is extremely important and that any limits on it should be carefully defined and properly justified. That philosophy tracks closely with the framework of the Bill of Rights Act, which is relevant to almost all speech issues in NZ, and that’s why I often discuss it and get steamed up when (as often happens) it is overlooked or poorly applied. I’m about to run a series of posts taking pot-shots at the system for checking compliance with the Bill of Rights before bills are introduced into Parliament.
So: I expect there are people out there who would accuse me of hypocrisy for supporting the Electoral Finance Act.
I don’t think I’m being hypocritical. I accept that electoral finance laws limit speech, but I argue that the advantages of reform meet the test of demonstrable justification under section 5 of the Bill of Rights Act. I set out some of my arguments here. I absolutely accept that others disagree, and do so strongly. Still, I am not blindly cheering for the Electoral Finance Act. I think (and have said) that the process followed by the government was terribly flawed, that the first version of the bill contained unjustified restrictions on speech, and that the new law isn’t perfect.
I don’t especially want to get into a debate about the nuances of the law. Go to NoRightTurn or Kiwiblog for that. But I thought I’d carve out a space for people to give me a slap over this if they feel like it.
I think I might kick things off by linking to Bryce Edwards and Stephen Franks, who hold contrary views.
Topics: Electoral speech, NZ Bill of Rights Act | Comments Off on Okay, have at me