PRESS RELEASE
Free To Be Church
Contact: Reverend Logan Hagoort on: [email protected]
Church Leaders to Appeal NZ High Court Ruling
Free To Be Church, a group of Christian Ministers from around New Zealand, has announced that it has filed an appeal in the NZ High Court over the Government restrictions imposed on religious groups in response to COVID.
On August 16th, the High Court ruled against Free To Be Church in ‘Free To Be Church Trust v Minister for COVID-19 Response (2022)’, stating that the limit on their right to manifest their religion by the Minister was demonstrably justified.
“We believe that the court erred in several significant ways in the decision that was reached. At the end of the day, we believe this needs to be tested, and so we are now pursing an appeal to seek redress,” says Free To Be Church spokesperson Rev. Logan Hagoort
“While the traffic light system has ended, we believe it is essential to do all we can to ensure that future Government actions of this sort are consistent with the democratic freedoms espoused in the Bill of Rights of NZ.”
“Our goal continues to be to ensure that the important principle of the separation of Church and state is protected, and that the NZ Parliament and/or her bureaucratic mechanisms, do not overstep their legitimate bounds to impose themselves on religious communities in unjust ways.”
Free To Be Church have received advice from a top KC (King’s Counsel) who will be assisting them with this appeal. Based on the advice they have received, they are confident there are very strong grounds for their appeal.
For more information about Free To Be Church, or how to support, please visit our website: freetobechurch.nz