Including religion in hate speech laws is a Trojan horse that protects those like Brian Tamaki – Alan Ringwood

Opinion byAlan RingwoodNZ Herald·17 Aug, 2026 05:00 PM6 mins to readAlan Ringwood is a lawyer and former partner at Bell Gully. He was for many years the Herald’s editorial lawyer. Brian Tamaki has spoken out against the ban. Photo / Michael CraigThere is nothing new about religions seeking to shut down criticism and opposing views. It’s a story as old as religion itself. The question is to what extent the state should step in to outlaw and criminalise anti-religious speech. Likely prompted by recent on social media, and with an election in the offing, there have been calls from the Federation of Islamic Associations of NZ, Hindu Council of NZ, Supreme Sikh Society NZ, and other interested parties such as Amnesty International Aotearoa, for gaps in our hate speech laws to be closed and for political parties to outline their policies on hate provocation.