Two months ago, we contacted you with the biggest issue we have dealt with yet. The NZ Police were wading into areas far, far beyond their remit, training their officers to 'recognise, record, and respond' to 'hate speech'. 

This afternoon, I am thrilled to tell you that we've pushed the NZ Police back, helped them to see reason, and they're entirely revising their training, changing the framework, and reviewing every file they had flagged with 'hate'.

This is a massive victory for free speech in New Zealand. And it's because you and I spoke up. 

Instead of doubling down and pushing on, the Police Commissioner was willing to meet with us and hear our concerns. It may have been a combative meeting, but there was a lot at stake. 

Here are the key outcomes: 

✅ The Police Commissioner instructed a complete review of the training material. 

✅ The training is being fully redesigned. 

✅ The definition of 'hate crime' is being reset, connected explicitly to the Police's responsibility to protect 'physical safety'. 

✅ Whenever 'hate crimes' are flagged, there will be a review to ensure that this is an appropriate response. 

The NZ Police in a media release this afternoon said:

"The Police Executive has agreed Police’s definition of a non-criminal hate incident should shift from a perception-based standard to one requiring reasonable grounds to believe an event involves or implies a significant risk of physical harm..."

This is exactly how it should be. Where people are physically at risk, Police should step in. But differing opinions are not a reason for this.

They also say they're training their officers to "recognise, record, respond to and resolve hate-motivated offending." Again, this is right. Police should focus on actions already against the law. Not speech.

I want to acknowledge we live in a divided age where some people do respond to ideas they don't like with violence, and it is up to Police to protect us while keeping our basic freedoms in mind. That isn't an easy task. But the response from the Police to our campaign gets us much closer to this. 

We still have several concerns after reading the report including that they provide working definitions for 'hate crimes' and 'hate incidents' "in lieu of legislative definitions".

There is a very good reason why there are no legislative definitions for these. It is impossible to define 'hate'. We will continue working with Police to ensure subjective policing does not become a new normal. 

Our fight against the proposed 'hate speech' laws was big. However, I think the original training conducted by the NZ Police had the potential to have even worse outcomes. We believe this training was extrajudicial, potentially illegal, and went against basic freedoms that Kiwis should be guaranteed. 

Police should not be 'protecting' us from ideas. 

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You might wonder how the Police's approach to 'hate crime' would actually play out in reality. Well, no need to wonder. 

Gareth's* story that we shared with you recently shows us exactly the sort of thing that's happening and will only continue to happen the more that Police focus on speech they don't like instead of actual crimes. 

Likewise, Lucy's story, of being arrested on Queen Street for silently holding a sign, shows what can happen when Police think they need to manage opinions. 

Yesterday, we also shared Paul's story. Thankfully that case had a happy outcome (with charges dropped and the case dismissed). But it shows that Police need to be told clearly, offending someone shouldn't land you in prison! 

Kiwis don’t need Police (or any other such authority) going ultra vires – acting beyond their lawful powers.

But when they do, we have to be ready to call their bluff and reign them back in.

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Prof. Biggar's first interview of our tour with him was this morning on The Platform. He said, 'Support the FSU, because the FSU will support you', and I think that sums it up. 

When you support us, you're not just ensuring we can keep the lights on. You're ensuring that your voice stays free.

Jonathan Ayling Chief Executive Free Speech Union www.fsu.nz

PS. Along with the standard membership, the Free Speech Union also offers profession-specific memberships. So far, we have released ones for academics, lawyers, and public servants. Keep an eye out for the rest we'll release in the coming weeks. 

Also, remember that on Saturday, we are holding our annual conference and AGM at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland. Honestly, even we're pretty impressed with our line up of speakers! Would be great to see you there.