Podcast: The trouble with hate crime laws
Dr Michael Johnston
Dr James Kierstead
Stephanie Martin
14 February, 2025
In this episode, James and Michael talk to Stephanie Martin from the Free Speech Union (and also the New Zealand Initiative) about a Law Commission consultation paper on hate crime legislation.
The discussion examines the shift from treating hate as an aggravating factor in sentencing to creating specific hate crime offenses, while exploring philosophical questions about hate motivation and concerns about free speech implications.