It was released in response to work the architects board is carrying out on how to engage with te ao M\u0101ori and m\u0101tauranga M\u0101ori. It includes things like understanding legislative obligations under te Tiriti o Waitangi.<\/p>\n
The FSU had got in touch early in the process as the architects board proposed these changes to professional competencies for architects in Aotearoa, says Judith Taylor, the CEO of the board. \u201cThey came to us to say, \u2018Look, we\u2019ve got concerns about this. As a regulator, why do you think you have the authority to require this knowledge?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The architects board has a licence to use the same registration process as the Architects Accreditation Council of Australia, including its education process. In 2021, the Australian council updated its national competency standard to include \u201ca greater focus on more meaningful engagement with our First Nations peoples\u201d. This centred around architects in Australia being able to demonstrate an understanding of indigenous knowledge and sustainability knowledge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey described First Nations as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders \u2013 makes perfect sense, in Australia. It\u2019s less relevant when you\u2019re practising architecture in New Zealand,\u201d Taylor says. So, the architects board decided to produce a schedule to be added to the Australian-based agreement that replaces mentions of First Nations in the performance criteria with M\u0101ori. Effectively, Taylor says, the changes meant architects practising in New Zealand would be empowered to know when certain cultural considerations would likely be appropriate and what that process would entail, for example consulting with mana whenua when designing a public library.<\/p>\n
Taylor says the changes are not burdensome and there\u2019s no suggestion architects will not be registered because of political beliefs. \u201cIf I\u2019m doing an alteration to my kitchen, that doesn\u2019t mean that I have to be fluent in te reo or know how to engage with iwi,\u201d Taylor says.<\/p>\n
Still, before the architects board could begin public consultation, the FSU was knocking on its door.<\/p>\n
NZ Registered Architects Board chief executive Judith Taylor. (Photo: Supplied).<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir concern was that these documents would be prescriptive and say that if you become registered as an architect in New Zealand, you must have this knowledge or behave in a particular way,\u201d Taylor says.<\/p>\n
Taylor met with two FSU representatives and tried to explain the reasons for the changes. The FSU challenged her to \u201cjust focus on physical safety,\u201d she says. Taylor then explained that public protection is the main focus of the board\u2019s work, but that it also has a duty to ensure architects in New Zealand have a range of competencies, including cultural competence and safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt as though they had formed the view that the NZRAB, in some way, was going to dictate to architects how they must deliver their services,\u201d Taylor says. \u201cIt\u2019s not our role. We\u2019re not about dictating views.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Taylor, when the conversation ended and everyone was leaving the meeting room, the FSU representative indicated they understood the position of the architect\u2019s board but that \u201cwasn\u2019t going to stop them from giving us an arm wrestle\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were trying to create a fuss where one needn\u2019t be, but that\u2019s their job on the planet. Good luck to them,\u201d says Taylor.<\/p>\n
The FSU is going bigger than just the architects board. The New Zealand Medical Council wanted those in its sector to acknowledge the impacts of colonisation<\/a> on M\u0101ori health outcomes. The Nursing Council of New Zealand wanted to ensure people weren\u2019t sharing hurtful information online<\/a>. And the Veterinary Council of New Zealand took action after a suppression order was breached<\/a>. All were targeted by the FSU.<\/p>\n In a submission to the Medical Council, the FSU said the council is forcing doctors to believe \u201ccontested sociological and political narratives, drawn from Critical Social Theory, postcolonial theory, and indigenous rights frameworks\u201d.<\/p>\n Why is the union taking such an interest in regulatory bodies? CEO Jillaine Heather says \u201cit\u2019s because it impacts on people\u2019s livelihoods\u201d.<\/p>\n The crux of the issues is the regulatory bodies are going beyond their legislative remits, she says. \u201cThere has been mission creep into what people must think, believe, and say \u2013 or what people can\u2019t say in their own private life, which I don\u2019t think is a healthy or a sustainable model for a flourishing community.\u201d<\/p>\n Heather says the FSU\u2019s members are worried. She can\u2019t say exactly how many members it has (although at one point it had about 1,000), but there is a significant subscriber base and a large number of supporters.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not only the FSU\u2019s members who are worried either, Heather says. \u201cWe do get quite a bit of contact from the public and from people, employees etc, that feel as if their expression rights have been curtailed, or their livelihoods put on the line.\u201d She was unable to offer any specific examples saying she would \u201cneed to refer to the details\u201d.<\/p>\n Heather acknowledges the \u201cimportant jobs\u201d regulatory bodies do, but she says the FSU will continue to pressure them to ensure \u201cthey focus on regulating the profession and the standards and safety standards that they\u2019re meant to focus on\u201d.<\/p>\n Back at the architect\u2019s board, Taylor is amused: \u201cI think it\u2019s hilarious that they would like to tell us what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Free Speech Union is worried people are being told what to think and say, and has zeroed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354502,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[26380,2396,33519,187465,84926,111,43,139,69,640],"class_list":["post-354501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-atea","tag-culture","tag-free-speech","tag-free-speech-coalition","tag-free-speech-union","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-regulation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354501"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354501\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Free speech has become a polarising issue in recent years. (Photo: JOSH EDELSON\/AFP\/Getty Images).<\/p>\n