Executive Summary - General conclusions

Academic freedom is a subset of the freedom of expression protected in the New Zealand Bill of Rights. [...] Surveys suggest that between 20% and 40% of students, and between 20% and 50% of academics, feel uncomfortable or unfree discussing controversial topics such the Treaty of Waitangi, gender, and sexual orientation (depending on the topic). [...] A small number of outright violations of academic freedom represents the tip of the iceberg, and substantial minorities of students and academics who feel inhibited make up the less visible body of the iceberg. [...] New Zealand’s small size may exacerbate the effects of social ostracism and institutional repudiation on individual academics, leaving them with ‘nowhere to turn.’ The denunciation of the authors of the Listener letter on science in swift succession by the University of Auckland, the Royal Society, the Tertiary Education Union, the New Zealand Association of Scientists, and the New Zealand Psychol. [...] The idea of universities as ‘Te Tiriti-led’ played a role in several academic freedom incidents over the past few years, with Massey University’s statement about the deplatforming of Don Brash, for example, referring to ‘the values of a Te Tiriti o Waitangi-led organisation.’ Sex and gender is another issue that is difficult to discuss openly at New Zealand universities.