Hate speech gone to ‘never-never land’ among concerns held by Muslim umbrella organisation

Compensating March 15 victims was an “unfinished agenda” and hate speech legislation has gone from “non-delivery to misdelivery”, the nation’s umbrella Muslim organisation has revealed.

Federation of Islamic Associations of NZ (FIANZ) released what it says is an evidence-based report on Tuesday, holding the Government to account for the promises it made following the March 15, 2019, Christchurch terrorist attack.

While largely positive, there are “key matters of concern on this fourth anniversary of the tragedy”, it says.

It says the Government’s $550 million investment so far was an “emphatic commitment” to the implementation of the 44 recommendations that came from the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCOI) into the shooting and a “solid affirmation of the promise made by the Prime Minister”.

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But no funding for volunteers carrying out social cohesion work and helping to implement the recommendations was “patently unfair”, given 95% of the total cost was spent on the Government and its consultants.

There had been 276 pieces of legislation enacted from the day of the attack, to the end of 2022, including the Terrorism Suppression (Control Orders) Act 2019, the Arms Legislation Act 2020, and the Firearms Prohibition Orders Legislation Act 2022.

Early concerns on whether there would be a sustained focus on the recommendations were mitigated by the “master class in effective community engagement” from former prime minister Jacinda Ardern and ministers, including 96 days of hui, 36 keynote speeches, providing regular updates, and responding to every letter seeking clarification, it says.

“This type of engagement has never before taken place in Aotearoa or any other country which has experienced such national terror tragedies.”

There had been a “significant culture change in the machinery of government” to ensure engagement with the community, and there was more inter-agency co-ordination than in the past.

The report says Ardern “set the benchmark standard for world leaders” on how to respond to a tragedy, and she agreed in principle to implement the recommendations of the RCOI.

They hoped current Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, who the survivor community met with recently, would continue those promises.

One of the key discussions was the “unfinished agenda of compensating the families of the March 15 shuhada, the wounded and the witnesses”.

In 2019, the ACC minister wanted to compensate all the victims equally, but Cabinet wouldn’t agree, saying it would “open the floodgates for compensation for the families of victims of homicide”.

FIANZ says the only peer-reviewed data based on a three-year period, indicated an average of 89 firearm-related injuries per year. If the current maximum lump sum payment was paid for all the firearm-related fatalities (excluding suicide) it would amount to approximately $23 million per annum.

“This would be less than 0.048% of the total ACC claims paid for 2019. This amount is not the ‘floodgates’ that the Government considers.”

The Hate Speech legislation “seems to have gone from non-delivery to misdelivery”.

FIANZ said it was “completely ignored by the Ministry of Justice” when concerns were raised about the Government’s “problematic approach” involving miscommunication and confusion in its first attempt to pass hate speech legislation in June/August 2021.

There was also a “complete farce of cultural understanding” as the timeframe occurred during the Hajj (pilgrimage) period followed by Eid celebrations. It “made a complete mockery of the royal commission’s suggestion to all ministries on engagement protocols with ethnic and faith communities”.

The second attempt at passing the legislation in November/December 2022 was not fit for purpose in including religious beliefs but no other minority groups, like queer communities, it says.

The latest and third attempt through the Law Commission has no resources, no timeframes, and no terms of reference, it says.

Of the more than half a million dollars spent, more than 95% was for Government and consultants, whereas charities helping in the response relied on volunteers and donations.

“This is patently unfair.

“This is not a level playing field and the problem needs to be addressed.”

FIANZ royal commission submission chairperson Abdur Razzaq said just a week after the attack, Ardern spoke of “hate speech being a virus”.

“This has gone into the never-never land after it was promised.”

International evidence showed that hate speech led to hate crimes.

“Now it’s been made into a political football because some people are unaware of the link.”