Free Speech Victory: Minister shelves Law Commission’s Ia Tangata gender overhaul

MEDIA RELEASE 

25 February 2026 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Free Speech Victory: Minister shelves Law Commission’s Ia Tangata gender overhaul 

The Free Speech Union is celebrating what it calls a major win for robust, honest, open debate after the Government confirmed it will not progress the Law Commission’s sweeping proposals to expand the Human Rights Act to include “gender identity” and “sex characteristics” as new prohibited grounds of discrimination. 

“This is a clear victory for free speech and common sense,” said Jillaine Heather, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union. “The Law Commission attempted to hard-wire a highly contested ideology into law. The report was not balanced, not comprehensive, and not reflective of the views of ordinary New Zealanders.  Ministers have rightly refused.” 

The Commission’s Ia Tangata report, released in September 2025, contained 27 recommendations that would have significantly reshaped the Human Rights Act 1993. While presented as technical reform, the changes would have embedded one side of an ongoing national debate about sex and gender into New Zealand’s anti-discrimination framework. 

“The Commission said it was not there to settle social debates and then proceeded to emphatically pick a side,” Heather said. “You cannot claim neutrality while redefining legal categories in ways that silence lawful disagreement.” 

The Free Speech Union warned the proposed overhaul would have created serious chilling effects across health, education, and employment. 

Under the recommendations doctors and nurses could have faced complaints for expressing clinical views about sex and gender without explicit safeguards for freedom of expression. Employers could also have been exposed to liability for allowing staff to voice opinions about pronouns, facilities, uniforms, or sport, even where those views were respectfully expressed. And teachers and school boards could have faced legal risk for permitting discussion of contested issues such as social transitioning, dress codes, or relationships education. 

“The Commission acknowledged the risks, and then offered no real protection,” Heather said. “Its answer was to leave it to the courts. But when the process is the punishment, most people will simply stay silent to avoid the inevitable censorship.” 

Thousands of New Zealanders signed an open letter organised by the Free Speech Union urging Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith to reject the proposals in full. The Union also provided detailed legal analysis outlining how the recommendations would undermine freedom of expression protections guaranteed under the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act. 

Heather said international experience underscored the danger. 

“In countries like Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, similar provisions have increasingly been used to police speech and drag ordinary people into drawn-out legal battles over contested social questions. That is not a path New Zealand should follow.” 

The Government tabled its formal response to the report on 24 February 2026, confirming it would not progress the recommendations. 

“This decision protects the space for New Zealanders to debate complex issues openly without fear of legal reprisal,” Heather said. 

“All people deserve dignity and respect. But turning disagreement into discrimination is not inclusion. In a free society, the answer to contested ideas is more speech, not enforced silence.” 

ENDS 

Notes to Editor 

• The Law Commission’s Report 150: Ia Tangata (September 2025) recommended adding “gender identity or its equivalents in the cultures of the person” and “having an innate variation of sex characteristics” as new prohibited grounds under the Human Rights Act 1993. The report contained 27 recommendations. 

• The Free Speech Union wrote to the Minister of Justice on 9 September 2025 outlining concerns, launched a public campaign, and raised the issue directly with the Minister in January 2026. 

• The Government tabled its response to the report on 24 February 2026, confirming it will not progress the recommendations. 

FSU Media Contact: Jillaine Heather | [email protected] | 

www.fsu.nz