Is Free Speech Gone In New Zealand?

Is Free Speech Gone In New Zealand?

From Talking Property Development with John Kenel by John Kenel

February 19, 2026 · 7 min · Episode 38

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of recent changes to hate speech laws in New Zealand and the cultural climate surrounding free speech.

The laws have changed, but has the culture? National rolled back Labour's hate speech proposals and forced universities to protect free speech. On paper, that looks like a win for democracy. But freedom on paper doesn't mean much if people are still scared to speak out. Most of us learned to keep quiet during the Ardern era, not because of what was illegal, but because of what felt dangerous to say. The real question isn't whether you trust this government with speech laws. It's whether you trust any government to decide what's true. And while politicians debate, algorithms still decide who gets heard. Bad ideas don't disappear when you ban them, they grow in the dark. The only real cure for bad speech is better speech. Sign up to my FREE weekly newsletter to improve your finances: https://newsletter.thepropertydevelopmentclub.com/yt Free guide to wills, trusts & passing down your wealth properly: https://wealth.thepropertydevelopmentclub.com/ Learn how to become a profitable developer in New Zealand at https://thepropertydevelopmentclub.com

People in this episode

Host: John Kenel

Topics covered

  • free speech
  • New Zealand
  • hate speech laws
  • democracy
  • political culture
  • censorship

Keywords

  • free speech
  • New Zealand
  • hate speech
  • democracy
  • political culture
  • censorship
  • Ardern
  • National
  • Labour

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Labour, National

Places: New Zealand

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