Cath's livelihood is on the line.

This fight to protect Kiwis’ speech rights is not abstract. It’s affecting Kiwis individually and daily. 

You may remember one of our members, Catherine Simpson. Cath has her livelihood in the balance because the Nursing Council is coming after her opinions and we need your help.

After more than 25 years as a registered nurse, she now faces serious charges brought against her in the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal by the Nursing Council.  

These charges relate to a complaint made over content she posted on her personal X account in her spare time. These posts expressed her views on a range of topics including the COVID-19 virus, abortion, gender identity, and Te Pāti Māori MPs.

The Nursing Council is using these posts as evidence that Cath has engaged in professional misconduct. We disagree, and together, we need to push back. 

The Tribunal has a range of penalties it can hand out, including cancelling the practitioner’s registration, suspending registration for up to 3 years, fining the practitioner up to $30,000 and ordering payment of the costs and expenses associated with the disciplinary process. These penalties have the potential to financially cripple someone.

You don’t have to agree with Cath’s opinions to think it’s wrong for her livelihood to be on the line because of them. We cannot let this stand.

A member of the public who saw Cath’s posts online, complained to the Nursing Council, then refused to do anything more. Shows you how concerned he was...!

However, the Nursing Council was not to be deterred, and then went through Cath's X account themselves in order to 'bulk up' the case.

Not only is the Nursing Council bringing charges against Cath, it has applied to the Tribunal for Cath to be suspended in the interim until final determination of the complaint. The Nursing Council asserts that Cath’s conduct poses a risk of serious harm to the public, and the Tribunal needs to step in to protect the health or safety of members of the public. 

The only evidence they have to support this is her posts on X. 

Do the Nursing Council’s actions here actually increase your trust in nurses and the medical profession? Surely we can trust medical professionals to set aside their personal opinions and provide the best care to every patient unless there is evidence to the contrary. Isn’t that simply what professionalism means? 

Douglas Brown from our governing council is representing Cath before the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal, with our Senior In-house Counsel Hannah leading the FSU’s work on this case. This work is not cheap, but it is necessary.

The Nursing Council is represented by a King’s Counsel (KC). KCs are highly distinguished barristers who typically work on cases that are especially complex, significant, or in the public interest. They are very expensive, charging much higher rates than a normal lawyer. Why is the Nursing Council treating this case with such high priority that they are willing to spend so much money on it?

If we let this case slide, who will be silenced next? How many of us are already self-censoring because we don’t want some regulator or our professional bodies coming after us?  

It’s not all bad news, though, and our hard work pays off. This year, we defended the speech rights of a teacher who was brought before the Teaching Council over a comment she made online. 

It was a criticism of the Teaching Council's submission opposing the Treaty Principles Bill made on behalf of all teachers. A member of the public had reported her for allegedly breaching the Code of Conduct. But this week, the Teaching Council contacted me to say that they closed their investigation. This is the right outcome.  

Teachers, like nurses, do not give up their speech rights when they become qualified.  

When you support the FSU, you’re not just supporting individuals like Cath or this teacher, you’re ensuring that your voice remains free, and that’s a sound investment. 

If we don’t stand up for the speech rights of others today, especially those we disagree with, it could be our voices silenced tomorrow. Remember: we are not defending opinions, we are defending the right to express opinions, your right to speak.

Contribute to the fight today. We can only do this together. 

Jillaine Heather | Chief Executive