Peter C. Earle: The American Revolution Redefined Freedom Itself

When the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, its immediate purpose was practical: to justify severing ties with Great Britain and explain to audiences both foreign and domestic why rebellion had become necessary. Yet the document’s historical importance extended far beyond the thirteen colonies. The American declaration not only created a new nation, but helped establish a new political language: a language rooted in natural rights, popular sovereignty, and the legitimacy of political self-determination. It was a language that would reverberate across continents for centuries.

Karl du Fresne: Camp Freedom revisited

Where should the balance be struck between public safety and individual freedom? At what point should the latter be curtailed to protect the former? More than four years after the anti-vaccination encampment that ended in mayhem outside Parliament, the answer isn’t clear.

New Zealand in 2020 was threatened by a global pandemic. No one knew how serious it might be.

Gary Judd KC: Human rights - are they real?

Or are they just a gift of the government?

Roy, a commenter on my Lessons from Iran, says there is no such thing as human rights: “Human rights are given and allowed by Governments.”

This introduces a deep philosophical/legal question with profound implications. If Roy is right, it means that the Iranian people do not have the right to life or liberty because the government of Iran has not given and allowed them to have those rights. By way of an opposite example, it also means that New Zealanders have those rights only because the government has given them to us or allowed us to have them.

Colinxy: The Duplicitousness of Leftist Freedom

The False Banner of Liberty

From its inception, the Left has proclaimed itself the champion of freedom. Its rhetoric is filled with promises of liberation, equality, and fraternity. Yet history reveals a darker truth: whenever Leftist movements seize power, their definition of “freedom” collapses into coercion, censorship, and violence. The banner of liberty becomes a mask for tyranny.

Professor Alexander Gillespie: NZ report card 2025 - how the country fared in 28 key global and domestic rankings

Standardised testing and regular progress assessment became key features of the education system this year, so why not apply those same principles to New Zealand as a whole?

There’s an important difference here, of course. This exercise is about prompting discussion and debate, and should be read with a degree of caution. The metrics tell us only so much – but it’s still possible to trace the nation’s ups and downs.

Caleb Anderson: Freedom and Responsibility

I recently re-read Viktor Frankl's much acclaimed "Man's Search for Meaning".

Frankl is considered one of the truly great psychotherapists, in the line of Freud, Adler and Jung.

An esteemed neurologist and practising psychiatrist, Frankl was imprisoned by the Nazis for simply being a Jew. He survived four concentration camps, including Auschwitz, and went on to write many books and lecture throughout the West.

Centrist: New Zealand ranks second in the world for freedom, just behind Finland

New Zealand has been ranked among the freest nations on earth in the 2025 Freedom in the World report, scoring 99 out of 100, the same as Norway and Sweden, and just one point behind Finland, which leads with a perfect score.

NZCPR Newsletter: Feature Article - State of the Nation 2025

Freedom, democracy, and the Rule of Law are the cornerstones of a modern society.

Let’s start 2025 with a quick stocktake on how well these foundations are being defended.

First of all, it’s important to remind ourselves that the Coalition was elected on the promise of reversing Labour’s destructive policy agenda that was undermining all three pillars of our society.

JC: Our Rights Must Be Protected

Since Covid appeared, democracy seems to be increasingly the domain of the right.

Since the arrival of the Covid pandemic there appears to have been a marked erosion in Western democracies of citizens’ rights. Governments in power at the time, particularly those on the left, appeared to seize it as an opportunity to create an experiment to force ideology upon us to see how much we were prepared to put up with. Leading the pack was our very own Jacinda Ardern, along with her partners in crime Justin Trudeau and other likeminded leaders.

NZCPR Newsletter: Unwinding Labour's Agenda

Former US President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.”

The fight for freedom in New Zealand has now reached a critical juncture. After six years of Labour’s increasingly authoritarian restrictions on our freedoms and democratic rights, unwinding their agenda will be a major challenge for the new Government. 

Allan Beever: The rule of law is fundamental to a free society

So why don’t NZ courts always uphold it?

Ever since the 17th century, the rule of law has been regarded as one of the fundamental values of a free society. It means you cannot be forced to do something unless there is a law requiring you to do it.

It also means people in power can coerce you only if there is a rule justifying it. This is the opposite of the “rule of persons”, in which the rulers have arbitrary power: they have the authority to force you to do things simply because they think those things should be done.

Gary Judd KC: Freedom is a precious commodity

Suppressing opinion is just the start of attempts to take it away

Having been involved with the political left in my youth and early adulthood, I had the same thoughts as Thomas More [“It continues to amaze me that ideals we used to think of as espoused by the political left have been abandoned by so-called "progressive" activists, freedom being just one of them”] as I read the Halfling's first-rate observations about the devaluation of the concept of freedom (link).

Brendan O'Neill: The ideology of lockdown lingers on - UK

We’re still being pressured to suspend our freedom for ‘the greater good’.

Wait, we’re still being asked to save the NHS? To limit our lives so that we don’t get injured or sick and put pressure on this sacred institution? Nearly two years after the first lockdown, when we were put under house arrest to protect the NHS from being overloaded with Covid patients, we’re once again being told to restrict our daily activities so that we don’t do something dumb that might require the attention of a doctor. The logic of lockdown survives. The idea that our freedom must sometimes be suspended for the good of institutions staggers on. Post-lockdown? You wish.

Rodney Hide: Freedom!

One of the most invigorating things about Camp Freedom is the absence of fear. The protesters aren't scared. They move freely amongst the crowd and greet and socialise in the usual human ways. There are smiles, handshakes and hugs.

I am not a hugger but I could not help myself. I hugged at Freedomville. I felt human. I was a person not a biohazard.

It was so unbelievably joyful.

To step into the camp is to step into freedom. Stepping out was to cross back into tyranny where people fear each other and wear filthy hankies tied across their faces in a madcap attempt to stay safe.

It's the lack of fear that makes for freedom and provides joy. Having left the Camp, I want back. The Camp is normal life to me; outside is weird, miserable, irrational and tyrannical.

Garrick Tremain: Lest We Forget!

 Here is Garrick Tremain's cartoon commentary on Jacinda Ardern's attack on free speech! 

Clive Bibby: The fight we don’t want but need to have

 

This nation is in a battle for the hearts, minds and property of all freedom loving people who swear allegiance to our founding principles. It is not something we want to take part in or have personal responsibility for but the result of which is something that will determine the type of society we bequeath to future generations of New Zealanders.

It is a fight (whoops - got to be careful using that word these days. In some quarters it could get you strung up) that we must win.

Our opponents are those who are acting like the “colonialists” they claim to despise. They want to take from you your legitimate rights acquired by birth.

Clive Bibby: The Free World holds is breath

There is no question that the free world is in crisis. 

Those of us who value our freedoms are contemplating an uncertain future where the choices we currently take for granted as individuals are at risk and unfortunately, there isn't a lot we can do about it.

Sadly, our Government, like many others of our traditional allies doesn't seem to care.

To some extent, our current parlous state is the result of a growing tendency to believe every dollop of bullshit forced upon us by a media fixated with its role in ensuring the demise of the current US President.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek: Ritual action and the religious freedom argument

It’s not very often that Jews and Muslims present a united front, but they did so in Germany recently when a court held that the circumcision of baby boys for reasons other than medical was illegal. It’s not very often that Muslims and Christians sing from the same song-sheet either, but they did so in their submissions to the Select Committee on the Marriage Amendment Bill, when both the Federation of Islamic Associations of NZ and various Christian groups presented submissions that in some instances would have looked like carbon copies. But we are more accustomed to hearing about Muslims getting in hot water in Western countries over such things as the female veil and forced marriages. And then there were the Sydney riots. Jews too occasionally find themselves falling foul of Western norms, such as the debate over shechita (ritual animal slaughter) in NZ not long ago.

A common defence is that of the freedom of religion. But freedom of religious expression is a qualified right, not an absolute right. It does not confer any right to break the laws of the country in which one lives. As with all rights, clear legal boundaries need to be put around religious freedom. And this is where the basic problem lies: which law is to define those boundaries?