Why was an Auckland woman summoned to a police station over a Facebook post?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Why was an Auckland woman summoned to a police station over a Facebook post? 

The Free Speech Union is today writing to Police asking why an Auckland woman was telephoned at home, with Police calling her mother first, and then called into a station to be told a Facebook post was "unkind" and "unwelcoming to the Indian community". No offence has been alleged. No threat of violence has been alleged. 

According to public reporting over the past 48 hours, Renee-Rose Schwenke posted a photo captioned "Welcome to New India thanks to Luxsingh", a comment on the New Zealand-India Free Trade Agreement. Other Facebook users complained. Police rang her mother, then called her into a station, where a senior sergeant told her the post was "unkind" and "racist". No charges have been laid. 

This is the practice Police told the Free Speech Union they had changed. Until late 2024, Police could attach a "hate" marker to a person’s file over things that were not a crime, simply because someone had taken offence. After pressure from the Free Speech Union and more than 12,000 New Zealanders, Assistant Police Commissioner Jill Rogers met with the Free Speech Union on 15 April 2025 and Police later confirmed in writing that the test for tagging non-criminal incidents as hate-motivated had been changed to an objective standard, effective 1 November 2024. Police told the Free Speech Union that historic flags applied before that date would be deleted, and reporting at the time indicated monthly tagging dropped from around 100 a month to fewer than five. 

"On the public reporting of this case, no offence is alleged, no threat is alleged, and the senior sergeant’s stated reason was that the post was unkind and unwelcoming. That is exactly the feelings-only test Police told the country they had moved past," said Jillaine Heather, CEO of the Free Speech Union. 

The Free Speech Union is asking Police three questions today, with an Official Information Act request to follow: 

Is the new objective standard, effective 1 November 2024, still in force? 

On what evidence did this case meet that standard, and has a "hate" marker been added to her file? 

What other record, if any, has been created against her? 

This is not the first time the police appear to have overstepped the mark. In February 2025, a senior officer in Hamilton told the pro-life group Grace for Life that "any person who complains about anything to us, if they feel that is offensive, that is an offence". Police later apologised in writing, accepting the officer’s interpretation "was incorrect". The Independent Police Conduct Authority subsequently confirmed the officer had "significantly mis-stated the law". 

"Once is an officer getting it wrong. Twice is a question about training, supervision and culture," Heather said. "We are not defending or attacking any one social media post. We are defending the principle that you do not get a phone call to your mother and a summons to a police station because strangers online took offence." 

Police are continuing to build out hate-crime infrastructure within the $10.4 million Te Raranga (The Weave) programme, even though the Law Commission’s hate crime report has not yet been released and Parliament has not legislated standalone hate crime offences. 

"If a senior sergeant can still call a citizen and her mother because a Facebook post was unkind, the policy on paper has not landed in practice. New Zealanders deserve to know which it is." 

ENDS 

Notes to editor: 

Renee-Rose Schwenke: Per public reporting 4–6 May 2026 (GoodOil, Inkl, Centrist, Noticer), Schwenke says Police phoned her mother and then called her into an Auckland station, where a senior sergeant told her a Facebook post - a photo captioned "Welcome to New India thanks to Luxsingh", referencing the NZ–India FTA - was "unkind", "racist" and "unwelcoming to the Indian community". She says the post contained no threats or calls for violence and no charges have been laid. The Free Speech Union has reached out to Schwenke about this matter, however this release is based on public reporting. 

Free Speech Union engagement with Police on Te Raranga: On 16 April 2025, the Free Speech Union met with Assistant Commissioner Jill Rogers (responsible for Police training). On 7 May 2025, Acting Deputy Commissioner Rogers wrote on Police National Headquarters letterhead confirming the updated definition took effect on 1 November 2024 and that Police would "remove all flags for perceived hate-motivation and sub-level data on perceived prejudice for non-criminal incidents dated before 1 November 2024" by end of May 2025. FSU holds the letter. Reporting at the time indicated monthly tagging of non-criminal incidents fell from around 100 to fewer than five. 

Te Raranga (The Weave): $10.4 million Police programme established in 2021 to implement Recommendation 42 of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch terrorist attack. 

Grace for Life: On 21 February 2025 in the Hamilton CBD, a senior Police officer asked Grace for Life advocates to put away a sign of an unborn baby at 20 weeks' gestation captioned "choose life", telling them "any person who complains about anything to us, if they feel that is offensive, that is an offence". Police later apologised in writing, accepting the officer's interpretation "was incorrect". The IPCA subsequently confirmed the officer had "significantly mis-stated the law". 

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