It’s been quite the week! Sometimes, with the hustle and bustle of running the Voices for Freedom and Reality Check Radio machines, it can be easy to remain so intently focused on the incoming threats and upcoming campaigns that we forget to celebrate the wins!
So, here are four things to put a smile on your dial

This week saw the return of everyone’s favourite radio station with a difference. After several weeks of fundraising, we reached the final target, thanks to thousands of donations from our fantastic community and listeners. The hosts and contributors were over the moon to get back behind the microphone, where they feel most at home, bringing you the news, discussion, and information you won’t hear anywhere else!  

2. The People’s Terms Hit Parliament!

We all know how important it is that the events of the last four years are not swept under the carpet. Scrutiny of and accountability for the destructive decisions made during the Covid era is essential to ensuring that we never see a repeat performance!

Put bluntly, the current Covid Inquiry is a waste of space. That’s why our team put together a comprehensive set of terms for a new independent, full-scale, wide-ranging public inquiry into NZ’s Covid response, complete with replaced commissioners and prioritised focus on the safety of the Covid injection.

Over 33,000 Kiwi legends signed The People’s Terms, and last Thursday, Claire and Alia hand-delivered them to New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister, Winston Peters, and NZ First MP Tanya Unkovich, marking a significant step in our collective advocacy.

Later the same day, the petition was introduced in the House and delivered to the Petitions Committee.

What happens next is in the hands of the politicians. We went above and beyond to give those advocating on our behalf for a proper Covid Inquiry the weight of a large cohort of New Zealanders to take into negotiations. It’s now up to them to do the right thing. Of course, we will continue covering the issues and applying pressure via interviews with key individuals on RCR. (One cracker you won’t want to miss is this Inquiry Sessions interview with former Australian barrister Julian Gillespie on GMOs and the Covid shots).  On a personal note, the hand-over experience was surreal, given the treatment we all received in 2022 during the Parliament protest. Alia had to suppress the cheeky urge to loudly proclaim, “The filth has arrived!” when walking through the front doors of Parliament!  

3. The ‘Safer Online Services and Media Services’ Backdown!

On Friday, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) announced it was abandoning proposals to further regulate online speech.

The proposals for online content and media regulation effectively amounted to “hate speech” laws for the internet and press, the centrepiece of which was an unelected, unaccountable ‘regulator’ that would have had the power to fine social media and internet-based content platforms for breaching rules designed to tackle harmful content.Media firms would have had to abide by mandatory codes of practice also overseen by the new regulator, replacing self-regulatory schemes such as those run by the Media Council and the Broadcasting Standards Authority.

Last year, our Head of Legal Katie Ashby-Koppens and the VFF team created a template for you to provide your feedback on this matter. Your concerns were received and acknowledged in the ‘Summary of Submissions‘ report.
 
The DIA summary document names Voices for Freedom and the Free Speech Union as responsible for almost 19,000 combined feedback submissions using templates from VFF and FSU websites.  Thank you to everyone who took the time to share your feedback with the DIA. Yet another example of public pressure in action!

4. Special Event ‘The W.H.O. & You’ Scheduled for THIS Friday!

Recently, we were offered the opportunity to divert Dr David Bell (former WHO Medical Officer and scientist) to New Zealand on his way back to the USA from events in Australia. We knew it would be a tight turnaround to put this event together, but we knew we wouldn’t get another chance, so we leapt in boots n’ all! Then, Katie AK extended the invitation to Professor Ramesh Thakur (former UN Assistant Secretary General) as well, and he said yes!So, on Friday, 17 May 2024, esteemed leaders in their fields, Professor Thakur and Dr Bell, will join us for a special, one-night-only event in Auckland Central.

During the evening, they will discuss their concerns surrounding the WHO’s new pandemic treaties and what they mean for you, our country and the health of humanity.

Tickets are limited and will be on sale within the next day, so keep an eye on your inbox for details.