Chief Human Rights Commissioner, David Rutherford will be in conversation with SATRS board member Noel Cheer on the limits to free speech
Information from the St Andrews Trust for the Study of Religion and Society – The SATRS Conversations
Flyer for free speech debate
St Andrew’s on The Terrace, Tuesday 3 March 2015, 12:15pm – 1pm
The recent massacre of staff of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris has reminded us of the wide range of standards applied to the question of how free can free speech be, especially in the context of satire.
In an attempt to offer a balanced view, we have invited our Chief Human Rights Commissioner, David Rutherford, to clarify for us the standards required by the law in New Zealand.
The Human Rights Commission helps New Zealanders to know and realise the human rights of themselves and others. The first of its two main functions is to advocate and promote respect for human rights, of which freedom of expression is commonly seen to be one.
The second function is to encourage harmonious relations between diverse people in New Zealand society. Having established the New Zealand position, the conversation will look at overseas conditions which include recent tragic events and to ask whether there can be a reconciliation between human rights, in general, and free speech in particular.
The interviewer, Noel Cheer, is a long-term member of the Board of The St Andrew’s Trust for the Study of Religion and Society. He has recently completed a series of half-hour interviews on the Auckland’s Triangle Television. For enquiries please call him on 0274 483 805.
Entry free – donation welcomed
“SATRS” is the St Andrew’s Trust for the Study of Religion and Society at www.satrs.org.nz
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