Media Release: Rights Aotearoa welcomes Race Relations Commissioner Dr Melissa Derby’s comments that hate speech protections must extend to religious groups and LGBTQIA+ Communities

Rights Aotearoa strongly welcomes Race Relations Commissioner Dr Melissa Derby's support for extending hate speech protections to include religious groups and LGBTQIA+ communities, as expressed in her appearance on TVNZ’s Q+A program on Sunday 5^th October, 2025.

When asked by host Jake Tame whether this explicitly included transgender people, Commissioner Derby responded unequivocally: "Absolutely."

CEO Paul Thistoll said “Rights Aotearoa is surprised by Dr Derby’s unequivocal support of expanding hate speech law provisions, given she was a founding member of the Free Speech Union, but we welcome and strongly support her position. But we emphasise that legislative consistency also requires parallel reform of section 21 of the Human Rights Act.”

"If Commissioner Derby recognises that trans people deserve hate speech law protection, then they also deserve to be explicitly covered in section 21 of the Human Rights Act. Legal protections against discrimination and incitement to hatred must work in tandem."

Section 21 of the Human Rights Act 1993 currently prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, which has been consistently interpreted by the Human Rights Commission to include gender identity. However, the absence of explicit protections for gender identity and gender expression leaves transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse people vulnerable to inconsistent legal treatment.

Commissioner Derby's acknowledgment that transgender people require protection from hate speech reinforces Rights Aotearoa's long-standing position that explicit inclusion in anti-discrimination law is not merely symbolic—it is essential for legal clarity, accessible justice, and meaningful protection.

Rights Aotearoa calls on the Government to ensure that any expansion of hate speech protections is accompanied by corresponding amendments to section 21 of the Human Rights Act to explicitly include gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics as prohibited grounds of discrimination. The grounds for protection for hate speech should substantially mirror the grounds of protection in section 21.

"Commissioner Derby is to be highly commended for showing leadership on this issue. Now Parliament must follow through with comprehensive reform that protects all members of our communities. A first step would be to restart the Law Commission’s work on Hate Speech Law reform that Minister Goldsmith stopped under pressure from self-interested “civil liberties” groups. Minister Goldsmith also needs to adopt the majority of the recommendations from the Law Commission’s Ia Tangata report.”

Ends