Hopkinson v Police
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| Hopkinson v Police | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Court | Wellington High Court |
| Decided | 23 July 2004 |
| Citation | [2004] 3 NZLR 704 |
| Court membership | |
| Judge sitting | Ellen France J |
| Keywords | |
| Criminal law, Flag desecration, New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 | |
Hopkinson v Police was a successful appeal by a protester convicted for the offence of burning the New Zealand flag with the intention of dishonouring it.[1] The case is notable because of the High Court's interpretation of the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981 in a manner consistent with the Bill of Rights Act 1990. Justice Ellen France held that "the prohibition of flag burning under the Act was a breach of the right to freedom of expression, and such a limit was not justified under s 5 of the Bill of Rights."[2]
On 10 March 2003 between 500 and 1000 people marched through central Wellington in protest at a visit of Australian Prime Minister John Howard to the New Zealand Parliament. The protest was against the Australian Government's support for the United States-led invasion of Iraq.[1] During the protest Hopkinson held the New Zealand flag on a pole upside down and a Mr Phillips lit the flag with a cigarette lighter resulting in a fireball and a column of flame 2 metres high.[1]
As a result of the protest, Wellington schoolteacher Paul Hopkinson became the first person to be prosecuted under the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981 after burning a New Zealand flag at an anti-war protest in March 2003.[3] Hopkinson was convicted in November in the Wellington District Court of an offence under s 11(1)(b) of the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981; destroying the New Zealand flag with the intention of dishonouring it.[1] Judge Noble ruled that Hopkinson had deliberately disrespected the flag to gain attention as he "sought to add weight to the effects of the protest".[4]
Hopkinson appealed the conviction on the basis that the District Court had failed to correctly interpret the Flags, Emblems and Names Protection Act 1981 in a manner consistent with the right to freedom of expression and of peaceful assembly under ss 14 and 16 of the Bill of Rights Act 1990.