New Plymouth Boys' High School apologises to Oliver Jull!

It’s not just national fights we take on at the Free Speech Union – we stick up for ‘the little guy’, too. And sometimes, quite literally.  
 
Remember Oliver Jull, the New Plymouth Boys’ High School student who was excluded from the school’s speech finals last year? Well, I have some exciting news for you! 
 
Late last week, our legal team supported Oliver and his parents in a mediation with the school, and the outcome was a great one. 💪  
 
New Plymouth Boys’ High School: 
 
✅ Acknowledged that Oliver Jull was excluded from participating in the finals of the school speech competition because of the content of his speech. 
 
✅ Apologised for this and the distress it caused. 
 
✅ Stated they remain committed to giving effect to the freedom of expression rights of students. 
 
✅ Will host the Free Speech Union later in the year to provide training at the school on best practice guidance on freedom of speech in an educational setting. 
 
You and I can both be proud! 

At the time Oliver’s story emerged, he was 15 years old, and it made headlines. Oliver made it through to the finals of his school's speech competition only to find out he was excluded, without warning, on the basis that some of the audience might find his speech offensive.   
 
Oliver’s speech addressed the idea of the demise of the West. He was told that unless he changed his speech, he would not continue.   
 
Well, how are students supposed to learn critical thinking skills for themselves if they’re forced to stay silent to avoid the risk of offending someone? Oliver's views didn't have to be accepted by the school for him to be able to voice them.   
 
Maybe it could have prompted some healthy debate!  
 
To help put Oliver’s predicament in context, the year prior, a student at his school won the speech competition when they spoke in support of co-governance. Oliver wasn’t alone in disagreeing with the ideas advanced in his fellow student’s speech, yet he fully supported that student’s right to air such views. 
 
And this is the problem with censorship, isn’t it? The would-be-censors set themselves a trap where they must pick and choose what is and isn’t ‘acceptable’.  
 
Not to mention if the school had allowed Oliver to proceed with giving his speech in the finals, we wouldn’t still be talking about it a year later, and the Platform’s YouTube video of Oliver giving his speech live on air wouldn’t have over 60,000 views, either! 😄 
 
When Professor Nigel Biggar toured with us in November last year, we invited Oliver to open our Wellington event in Parliament with his speech from the ‘podium of truth’ itself!

We are thrilled to have supported Oliver and his parents in the mediation with NPBHS last week, and welcome the opportunity to run a free speech training session at the school later in the year on best practice guidance on freedom of speech in an educational setting. 
 
Critical thinking skills aren’t manufactured out of nowhere, and if our schools aren’t places that foster this, what does that say for the next generation?  
 
We commend New Plymouth Boys’ High School for reaffirming their commitment to giving effect to the freedom of expression rights of their students. 
 
Sometimes these processes take time, and it’s all thanks to your support that we’ve been able to keep this fight up over the past year.  
 
When Oliver’s story emerged a year ago, we were busy exposing the unlawful training Police were conducting of their officers to identify ‘hate speech’ and ‘hate crime’ – we picked a major, national fight. But we didn’t let that stop us from supporting Oliver, too.

Protecting the individual is how we protect freedom for everyone. Laws that protect our freedom mean little unless we also have a culture that upholds and celebrates free speech, no matter the topic or stance.  
 
And, this is what you and I are working towards, and we’re doing so successfully.  
 
Together, we’re shifting the culture, one story at a time, and it’s working.

Jillaine Heather | Free Speech Union