Phil Goff's tweets may have unwisely bought ratepayers a costly battle

Wednesday, 11 July 2018

A free speech advocacy group raised $50,000 in less than 24 hours to take legal action against Auckland Mayor Phil Goff.

OPINION: Has a personal tweet from Auckland Mayor Phil Goff bought ratepayers an expensive legal battle that wouldn't otherwise have happened?

Goff's personal comments have incorrectly conveyed the impression that he banned two controversial Canadian speakers from an Auckland Council-owned venue, and prompted the challenge.

In fact, the cancelling of the pair's August 3 booking of the Bruce Mason Centre had already been made by the venue's council-owned management Auckland Live, based on safety, security and contractual grounds.

Concerns about 'the health and safety of the presenters, staff and patrons' had led to the cancellation of the talk by speakers Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff's tweet may have sparked a costly legal action.

* Don Brash says people have a right to air racist views in New Zealand

* Call for judicial review of Auckland Council agency's blocking of far-right speakers

* Council agency cancels booking by controversial Canadian speakers**

The agency said it made the move after consulting its lawyers.

It won't give details of its reasoning, but the standard hire contract for the venue appears to offer potential grounds.

Hirers must identify and pay in advance for security appropriate for the event, and provide traffic management plans if needed – for example, if the road outside needed closing.

The 'Proper Conduct' clause states the hirer must 'not behave in a riotous, offensive or disorderly manner or in a manner that is likely to create a nuisance, cause danger or annoy other members of the public; and/or damage our reputation, the venue's reputation or Auckland Council's reputation.'

Whatever the grounds, Auckland Live cancelled the booking and as an unsolicited courtesy told the mayor's office it had done so.

Lauren Southern was due to speak in Auckland on August 3.

It was Goff's subsequent tweet from his mayoral account that really fired up opponents of the cancellation.

'Auckland Council venues shouldn't be used to stir up ethnic or religious tensions,' he wrote.

'Views that divide rather than unite are repugnant and I have made my views on this very clear. Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux will not be speaking at any Council venues.'

Goff's habit of using language that closely associates himself with events that might play well in public certainly worked.

It was widely reported that Goff had 'banned' the pair. Within days a 'Free Speech Coalition' had been formed by lobbyist Jordan Williams, and 24 hours later it had raised $50,000 to seek a judicial review.

Whether the event would even have happened was not clear.

On the day of the cancellation, the event's Australian-based promoter David Pellowe told Stuff Lauren Southern had not been granted an automatic entry visa, due to her being denied entry to the United Kingdom.

Lawyers were still working on that when the booking was cancelled, but Pellowe said the four weeks available was not enough to find another Auckland venue.

In that conversation with Stuff, Pellowe didn't question the validity of the cancellation – but was clearly angry.

'The extreme fundamentalist and organised Left have a deliberate and evidently successful strategy,' he said.

Meanwhile, members of the coalition appear focussed on what they see as Goff's role as mayor.

'Is it right the mayor can issue what is a decree – is it lawful and in his purview?' left-leaning writer Chris Trotter, who's part of the 11-member group, asked.

'I hope to force Phil Goff to recognise that he's in breach of the Bill of Rights Act, which guarantees freedom of speech and potentially also in breach of the Human Rights Act which prevents discrimination on the basis of political opinion,' fellow coalition member Don Brash told RNZ.

Despite the impression left by the mayoral tweets, Goff's office says Auckland Live made the cancellation decision 'incredibly independently.'

Despite the mayor's line in a subsequent tweet that Southern and Molyneux 'will not be speaking at any council venues', his office said no instruction has been given.

Goff's abhorrence of divisive views have been commended in social media, and are proper from a politician.

Whether the swift airing of his personal views on a matter already resolved by a council agency was wise, and whether it costs ratepayers money, remains to be seen.