Stop Universities Undermining our Basic Freedoms

Universities are supposed to be institutions of research and learning where the status quo can be challenged and truth pursued. 

But for decades now, opposition to the core freedoms that enable us to discern fact from error have set in, ultimately undermining the ability of academics to perform their roles as 'critics and conscience' of society. This has made our universities hotbeds of orthodoxies and the temples of a new 'priestly caste'; immune from the realities, and indifferent to the voices, of everyday Kiwis. These institutions are 'upstream' of the culture-levers like media and the public service that have promoted censorship and consistently undermined free speech  challenging the very foundation of human rights in New Zealand. 

In short, universities are losing their social license. They have a vital contribution to make, but we need our leaders to bring them into line. 

Join us in signing this public letter, calling on the Government to do its job, set the rules of the game, and defend free speech. 

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Dear Ministers, 

We believe universities in New Zealand have a crucial role to play, where academics are able to be 'the critics and conscience' of our society.

Yet, increasingly, they are abandoning this work, opting for 'group-think' and the protection of 'sacred orthodoxies' instead. They threaten to silence dissenters and exclude heretics.

This is inconsistent with their role; the implications are far-reaching throughout our society, and our leaders must put an end to it.

We call on you to defend academic freedom and free speech in our universities, and to create and enforce laws that defend the right for knowledge and truth to be discovered. Defending academic freedom and free speech means that Governments must enforce 'the rules of the game'; not participate in the contest of ideas itself, but ensure that no one is excluded simply by virtue of the belief they hold. 

Without free speech and academic freedom, universities are institutions of indoctrination, not learning.  

We call on you to take action to stop the decay of these freedoms in our universities, enabling a new generation of students and scholars to dare challenge the universally accepted, consider the unthinkable, and develop new knowledge for the benefit of all Kiwis. 

5,419 signature
Goal: 10000 signature

Will you sign?

Showing 3810 reactions

  • Alex Taylor
    signed 2024-07-06 11:27:17 +1200
  • Carolyn McLeod Smith
    signed 2024-07-06 11:26:16 +1200
  • Vicky de Laborde
    signed 2024-07-06 11:24:01 +1200
    I fully support freedom of speech in universities, not Council’s blatantly bias selection.
  • Robert Hartlebury
    signed 2024-07-06 11:22:39 +1200
  • Gayel Paterson
    signed 2024-07-06 11:16:33 +1200
  • Alex Stewart
    signed 2024-07-06 11:16:19 +1200
  • Alan Vernon
    signed 2024-07-06 11:16:07 +1200
    Universities primary function is to educate students to think critically and secondly to give them basic skills to fit with the profession they initially hope to enter; whether that profession is applied or theoretical. To think critically students, need the ability to analyse information objectively, make a reasoned judgments and become skilled in argumentation. This means students need to have freedom to speak and argue on any subject rather than be constrained by myopic dogma and cultural constraints.
  • Pauline Pedersen
    signed 2024-07-06 11:13:42 +1200
  • Dr Bob de Laborde
    signed 2024-07-06 11:13:13 +1200
    I fully support freedom of speech in universities, not Council clearly bias selection.
  • David Hay
    signed 2024-07-06 11:07:55 +1200
  • Ken Penniall
    signed 2024-07-06 10:57:31 +1200
  • Mark Winter
    signed 2024-07-06 10:56:56 +1200
  • Alice Harper
    signed 2024-07-06 10:56:26 +1200
  • Terry Rea
    signed 2024-07-06 10:53:52 +1200
  • Kylie Weastell
    signed 2024-07-06 10:49:25 +1200
  • Ray Foss
    signed 2024-07-06 10:47:08 +1200
    Wecome to our universities the North Korean chapter of free speech .
  • Rochelle Wilson
    signed 2024-07-06 10:45:00 +1200
    I despair for the children and youth of today. All the gender confusion, the Trans take-over, the cancelling of any contrary opinion in places of learning and training. I do my best with my teenage grandchildren, but they are lucky to have me. Most do not hear the need real Free-Speech.
  • Brian Harper-Smith
    signed 2024-07-06 10:43:32 +1200
  • Erina Jones
    signed 2024-07-06 10:42:56 +1200
    Peer review is and always has been a vital part of science. Every hypothesis starts as an idea or opinion or belief and then is either given credit or discredit with evidence. Peers will always criticise approve/disapprove and debate their side of the argument – a fair process that needs to be protected without fear of repercussions based on which side of the argument you take.
  • Dale Kuhtze
    signed 2024-07-06 10:42:08 +1200
  • Mal Campbell
    signed 2024-07-06 10:40:46 +1200
    A sad time when the so called leaders of our universities try to enforce (what appears to be)their own singular beliefs in terms of individuals right to FREE speech……….as mentioned – universities should be there to promote and encourage individual expression / thinking …and NOT to tell them how and what to say. Shame on them and the others that promote this behaviour !!
  • John Hyde
    signed 2024-07-06 10:36:15 +1200
  • Gary Fleet
    signed 2024-07-06 10:27:03 +1200
  • Alastair Sell
    signed 2024-07-06 10:24:09 +1200
  • Brian McConkey
    signed 2024-07-06 10:20:26 +1200
  • Rhonda Fitzpatrick
    signed 2024-07-06 10:19:17 +1200
  • Sue Hull
    signed 2024-07-06 10:10:57 +1200
  • Sheryl Wills
    signed 2024-07-06 10:09:57 +1200
  • Caleb Duinkerke
    signed 2024-07-06 10:05:10 +1200
  • Glenn Berridge
    signed 2024-07-06 10:03:05 +1200
    Stop interfearing with free speech and focus on your core responsibilities like education.

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