The Free Speech Union is calling on Parliament to narrow the Summary Offences (Move-on Orders) Amendment Bill, warning it hands police open-ended discretion to move people on, and prosecute them, for peaceful conduct in a public place.
The Bill lets an officer order anyone aged 14 or over to leave a public place for 24 hours on grounds as vague as “disorderly” or “disruptive” behaviour, or for begging. Whatever you think about begging, the Free Speech Union’s concern is narrower: who decides which peaceful presence is allowed in a public place, and on what grounds?
“We are not asking Parliament to go soft on disorder. We are asking it to listen to its own Attorney-General,” said Jillaine Heather, Chief Executive of the Free Speech Union. “Keep the powers that deal with threatening and aggressive behaviour. What we cannot accept is open-ended discretion to move someone on for nothing more than holding a sign.”
In his section 7 report, Attorney-General Chris Bishop found the begging ground inconsistent with the right to freedom of expression and, in his words, “too wide.” The Bill says it will not apply to protest, but the Free Speech Union warns that reassurance is thinner than it sounds. “Protest activities” is left undefined, and it is the same officer who decides on the spot whether a person is protesting or being “disruptive.”
The Free Speech Union’s objection rests on three points:
- Peaceful expression does not lose protection because it is unwelcome.
- Vague grounds and broad police discretion invite selective enforcement and make the law impossible to predict.
- These powers bite below the criminal threshold, curbing liberty where Parliament has decided it is not warranted.
“This is the latest in a run of bills handing police vague, subjective discretion over who may stand where and say what,” said Heather. “A free society can tell the difference between a threat and a person holding a sign. A law that leaves that judgement to an officer cannot. Narrow the Bill.”
The Free Speech Union will make a submission to the Justice Committee, and encourages New Zealanders who value free expression to do the same.
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Human beings cannot flourish unless they are free! We protect, expand, and fight for New Zealanders’ rights to freedom of speech, conscience, and intellectual inquiry. We envision a flourishing New Zealand civil society that values and protects vigorous debate, dissenting ideas, and freedom of speech as cultural cornerstones.