Trio of groups ‘forgotten’ in watered-down plans

Disabled people, rainbow communities, and women have voiced disappointment, frustration and fears for safety after being excluded from the Government’s hate speech reforms, Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt said.

Meanwhile, members of the Muslim community – who are included in the new proposals – have told the commission it’s unfair other groups aren’t covered, and that they did not want any other community to suffer what they have.

‘‘The Government has forgotten its fundamental human rights duty to protect vulnerable groups,’’ Hunt said. The Government in 2020 promised to make changes after the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Christchurch mosque terror attacks found the law failed to ‘‘appropriately capture’’ hatemotivated offending, or deal with hate speech.

It first announced reforms last year, but they were largely unpopular, and ministers struggled to explain what they would mean.

Justice Minister Kiri Allan, who is now in charge of the reform, last Saturday opted to make a single change to the Human Rights Act, expanding protections to religious groups, and dropping proposals to include gender, disabled people and the rainbow community.