The National Party has always been, and always will be, a staunch protector of New Zealanders’ right to free speech.

It’s an important part of our democratic rights and it means having to tolerate the expression of diverse views.

But that could be about to change.

Labour is proposing to regulate our free speech laws.

It claims the changes are in response to the atrocious acts of March 15, but there’s no evidence to support the idea that these hate speech laws would have prevented this massacre.

In any case, we expect any changes to be closely scrutinised with all New Zealanders brought into the discussion.

But so far the Government has been misleading the public and shutting down the debate.

Speech that incites violence is already, quite rightly, illegal in New Zealand.

But the Prime Minister has claimed that her Government’s draconian law changes will fill a void in this area. This is completely false.

It’s pretty cynical that the Government is using this as an excuse to make it seem as though the proposed restrictions are necessary.

New Zealanders are entitled to a truthful accounting of the facts.

The National Party condemns vile speech that is intended to insult, but there is a big leap from condemning it to criminalising it.

When questioned about what hatred looks like or what the threshold of punishment would be, the Minister in charge of passing the new laws couldn’t answer. The Prime Minister’s answers were similarly muddled.

So not only do New Zealanders not know how this law would work in practice, but neither does the Government.

The bar for persecuting hate speech will be lowered so someone who intentionally stirs up or normalises hatred by being insulting would break the law.

Increased penalties for hate speech have also been proposed, with the maximum fine to go from $7000 to $50,000, and the maximum length of imprisonment from three months to three years.

Three years in prison for hate speech is longer than the punishment for assaulting a child.

That’s right. The Government is telling us that insulting someone deserves a greater punishment than if someone physically assaulted a child.

These hate speech laws will turn New Zealand into a country where Kiwis won’t voice their opinions for fear of prosecution. That is not the type of country I want to live in.

National encourages open debate and discussion as this leads to New Zealanders being better informed and able to form their own opinions on different issues.

Democracy relies on the ability to speak freely and in turn others are free to disagree.

But protecting free speech doesn’t mean there isn’t speech that we find abhorrent.

We are offended by a variety of things, however it would be an overreach to criminalise people and throw them in jail for up to three years because they caused offence.

But it’s better that that speech that does offend is called out, is shamed, so that others can learn from the experience too.

Given the Government doesn’t even understand its own policy, nor how it will be applied, it should scrap its confusing hate speech proposals.

National is the party who will stand up for New Zealanders’ freedoms and encourage a cohesive society that is capable of engaging in debate and discussion without involving the Government.

We will reverse any hate speech laws that will impinge on the freedom of speech Kiwis currently enjoy. It’s too important. – Simon Bridges, National’s Justice spokesperson, on Hate Speech