The Justice and Electoral committee has been hearing submissions on the Crimes (Repeal of Seditious Offences) Amendment Bill. Both Idiot/Savant and DPF presented submissions in favour of the Bill. Both note in their posts that the Maxim Institute also presented a submission, arguing against the Bill on the grounds that "sedition laws protect lawful authority, and the common good. They recognise that it is possible not only to do violence to people, but to institutions, and to the bonds that hold us together."
If you have the time and patience to wade through all seventeen pages of Maxim's submission you can download it here. It does not seem to have impressed the Committee: as both I/S and DPF report, Maxim was roughed up by National Party members of the Committee. That must have hurt.
Some of us, of course, may be pondering at this stage how an organisation which gains considerable tax advantages from its status as an educational charity should spend so little time on matters of education and so much on defending indefensible laws.
Also of note is that I/S and DPF talked about repealing the Blasphemous Libel section of the Crimes Act. Now, there's a thought.
3 comments:
According to their hate speech submission, Maxim *does* (!) support blasphemy law repeal...
Craig Y
Maxim was roughed up by National Party members of the Committee. That must have hurt.
But isn't Chris Finlayson a ghastly (classical) liberal sodomite? Can't imagine the mauling caused over-much pain on either side - partly because Maxim really has no shame, bur mostly because Chris has no patience for shoddy, intellectually lazy arguments no matter who is making them. All the more effective because he's so damn polite and reasonable while doing it. :)
Maxim Institute is clearly not in the business of education!
They are a political organisation that expends a lot of energy trying to tell us how education should be done. It is not the sam thing is it?
Their last study and seminar that I recall was on social justice. What did you make of that?
Looked at the Website and noticed some staff turnover there? Almost all quite new.
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