Section 61 — Human Rights Act 1993: Racial disharmony

61 Racial disharmony (1) It shall be unlawful for any person— (a) To publish or distribute written matter which is threatening, abusive, or insulting, or to broadcast by means of radio or television words which are threatening, abusive, or insulting; or (b) To use in any public place as defined in section 2(1) of the Summary Offences Act 1981 , or within the hearing of persons in any such public place, or at any meeting to which the public are invited or have access, words which are threatening, abusive, or insulting; or (c) To use in any place words which are threatening, abusive, or insulting if the person using the words knew or ought to have known that the words were reasonably likely to be published in a newspaper, magazine, or periodical or broadcast by means of radio or television,— being matter or words likely to excite hostility against or bring into contempt any group of persons in or who may be coming to New Zealand on the ground of the colour, race, or ethnic or national origins of that group of persons. (2) It shall not be a breach of subsection (1) of this section to publish in a newspaper, magazine, or periodical or broadcast by means of radio or television a report relating to the publication or distribution of matter by any person or the broadcast or use of words by any person, if the report of the matter or words accurately conveys the intention of the person who published or distributed the matter or broadcast or used the words. (3) For the purposes of this section,— Newspaper means a paper containing public news or observations on public news, or consisting wholly or mainly of advertisements, being a newspaper that is published periodically at intervals not exceeding 3 months Publishes or distributes means publishes or distributes to the public at large or to any member or members of the public Written matter includes any writing, sign, visible representation, or sound recording. Compare: 1971 No 150 s 9A; 1977 No 49 s 86; 1989 No 127 s 2