One of the most
striking points to emerge from the free-speech furore has been the failure of
the media to reflect public opinion.
In my column in
the Dominion Post today, I noted that a Newshub poll – not a
scientific opinion sample, but still an indication of what the public was
thinking – showed that 78 percent of New Zealanders thought Lauren Southern and
Stefan Molyneux should be allowed into the country. (This was when their
immigration status was still in doubt.)
It can be inferred
from this that the majority of people believed the Canadians should be allowed
to speak here – and more to the point, that we should be allowed to hear what
they had to say so that we could make up our own minds about whether their views
were harmful or hateful.
