Far-right speakers coming to Auckland

Right-wing speakers Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux will come to Auckland.

Promoters told 1 News that a venue has been found for the Canadian pair to speak at and the event will go ahead.

The event promoter, David Pellowe, said they will not be disclosing the venue and a date for the event will be published online in the near future.

On Wednesday it was announced that the event would no longer be going ahead, but Pellowe said the first they heard of that was in the news.

Regional Facilities Auckland (RFA) originally made the decision to ban Southern and Molyneux from using council facilities on security and safety grounds.

The Canadian speakers were due to speak at Taka- puna’s Bruce Mason Centre next week but faced strong criticism from the council.

On Wednesday the Free Speech Coalition and Axiomatic, which had filed legal action, said in a memorandum that the application for urgent interim orders was no longer being pursued.

But the group said it still wants a hearing in a month, after having further discussions with Auckland Mayor Phil Goff and the council, when the pleadings may also be refined.

Goff told the Herald on Wednesday he was not surprised by the outcome.

“I’m obviously pleased that they’ve withdrawn their action.

“It was always based on grounds that were incorrect, ill-conceived, and their case was weak.”

The group raised around $90,000 to challenge the cancellation.