MEDIA RELEASE
Free Speech Coalition condemns assault on Shaw
14 March 2019
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Responding to the reported assault of Green Party co-Leader James Shaw, Free Speech Coalition spokesperson Patrick
Corish says:
“The assault of James Shaw should be universally condemned, especially if it is shown to be politically-motivated. In
New Zealand we enjoy the right to free exchange of political ideas -- there is no excuse for communicating through
violence.”
“If we normalise political assaults, serious or not, we risk violence eventually being turned on anyone who dares
express their political views. This would be a tragedy for free speech in a country that currently enjoys a relatively
open and peaceful public debate.”
ENDS