National Party leader Simon Bridges cautioned today against the Government rushing through a review of hate speech in the wake of the Christchurch terrorist attacks, pointing out that it can be hard to differentiate between hate speech and freedom of speech.
It's important to get it right, he told TVNZ1's Breakfast.
Justice Minister Andrew Little is doing a review on hate speech following the March 15 terrorist attacks in Christchurch where 50 people were killed while they prayed at two mosques.
Mr Bridges said today he agrees with the review but doesn't want to see a misstep due to rushing.
"I am cautious because freedom of speech is a bedrock value for us," Mr Bridges said. "It does mean, actually, a diversity of views, people disagreeing with each other, people sometimes saying really offensive things, actually. And I think you've got to be really careful before you interfere with it."
Mr Bridges said throughout his career, as a lawyer and in politics, he had been on the side of freedom of speech and viewed it as something to "jealously guard".
While it is not easy to always differentiate hate speech and freedom of speech, he said, "if we're talking about the video, the footage following these attacks, it's no doubt that far crosses the line ... You've got to really think carefully about this stuff."
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