Pages tagged "Counter-Terrorism Act"
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Thousands Call For Parliament To Keep Terrorist Charges For Terrorist Activities And Material Only
30 November 2022FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thousands Call For Parliament To Keep Terrorist Charges For Terrorist Activities And Material Only
In less than 24 hours, over 5,000 Kiwis have signed the Free Speech Union's petition calling on Parliament to drop Clause 15 of the Counter-Terrorism Acts (Designations and Control Orders) Amendment Bill. The Justice Select Committee must protect Kiwis' speech rights and civil liberties, and amend this legislation before sending it back to the House, says Jonathan Ayling, spokesperson for the Union.
"Terrorist charges need to be used for terrorist activity, not regulating material that has nothing to do with terrorism. Watering down such a significant term runs the risk of seeing Kiwis legally branded 'terrorists' without ever performing any terrorist act, or even accessing material which promotes terrorism.
"The act of terrorism comes with appropriately harsh penalties. By extending terrorism related charges to individuals who possess certain 'objectionable material', these significant penalties may be placed on those who have simply accessed censored material, despite it being unrelated to terrorism.
"Legislation already allows for individuals in possession of material which advocates or inspires terrorism to be charged under terrorism laws. Extending this further to material that is entirely unrelated to terrorism is a law ripe for abuse.
"New Zealand already has a strict censorship regime. It's not hard to imagine the incredible harm which could occur to speech rights and other liberties if this amendment was used as a precedent to justify the prohibition of other material under terrorism legislation.
"Thousands have called on Parliament to keep terrorist charges for terrorist activity and material. The stakes are too high to bandy this term about."
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Terrorist Charges For Terrorist Active And Content Only
18 November 2022FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Terrorist Charges For Terrorist Active And Content Only
Changes proposed under Clause 15 of the Counter-Terrorism Acts (Designations and Control Orders) Amendment Bill extend the term 'terrorist' (and the option for 'Control Orders,' which remove many basic civil liberties) to those who possess 'objectionable material' even if the material has nothing to do with terrorism. Terrorist charges should be for terrorist activity and content only. This Clause must be removed, says Jonathan Ayling, spokesperson for the Free Speech Union.
'This opens Kiwis up to persecution under terrorism legislation without having actually engaged in any terrorism-related activities of. any. kind. Clause 15 of this Bill could make those who possess objectionable material (some of which is legally available overseas) subject to terrorism-related legislation.
'Examples of objectionable material include films such as Cannibal Holocaust, The Human Centipede 2, and Fireball: Muay Thai Dunk. The video game Reservoir Dogs, based on Quentin Tarantino’s film of the same name, also has the classification of “objectionable”, as do the games Manhunt and its sequel Manhunt 2, produced by Rockstar games, the same company that made the Grand Theft Auto series.
'These films and video games have been widely viewed overseas; Fireball has even won an award at the Fant-Asia Film Festival for “Most Energetic Film”, yet the possession of them in New Zealand is a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison... and under this legislation, it could see those who possess it "terrorists".
'It's easy to imagine a conservative censor declaring material promoting abortion rights, for example, as advocating violence against the unborn and, therefore, objectionable. Under this Bill, such material could be part of a terrorism offense.
'Bizarrely, the National Party is supporting this legislation. The Opposition must insist that this overreach be removed from the Bill.
'The Government has an important role to keep its citizens safe. Terrorism, which is violence for political ends, is the very opposite of free speech. But extending the net so wide that those who possess celebrated material unrelated are considered 'terrorists' is a gross overreach. This clause has to go.'
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