Tim Selwyn

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Tim Selwyn

Tim Selwyn (b. 1974, Takapuna) is a New Zealand political activist who was found guilty of sedition on June 8, 2006, reputedly the first person charged with sedition in New Zealand for more than 30 years. He is also editor of Tumeke magazine, and has a blog with the same name.

He was sentenced to two months imprisonment for sedition and for conspiracy to commit wilful damage on July 19, 2006. Selwyn was also sentenced to a further 15 months for dishonesty charges, including obtaining passports, birth certificates, benefits and four Inland Revenue Department numbers under the names of dead people. He pled guilty to all the charges except sedition.[1] The dishonesty offences occurred ten years beforehand. He was later (on 14 February 2007) sentenced to an additional 25 months for fraudulently claiming GST of almost $250,000 between 1996 and 2000, to which he also pled guilty.[2]

Letters he wrote from prison have been posted on his blog, prompting criticism and questions in Parliament from National's Corrections spokesman Simon Power.[3][4]

Selwyn has previously attracted controversy. In 1996, he was imprisoned for electoral fraud and was forced to resign as a member of the Glenfield Community Board, to which he had been elected unopposed. His sentence was halved on appeal. [5] He also wrote articles in Craccum criticising suicide prevention workers[6] and explaining how to rip off the student loan system; the former being condemned by the New Zealand Press Council in a ruling as "consistently irresponsible and malicious" [7]. Selwyn later said the ruling was "the height of reactionary, immature, ill-considered and hypocritical self-serving phlegm ever dribbled from that pompous chapter of the old boys' club." [8] Selwyn has previously been a member of the ACT Party, but more recently has supported the Maori Party [9].

Selwyn pleaded guilty [10] in 2005 to being party to a conspiracy to commit intentional damage related to throwing an axe through the Auckland electorate office window of Prime Minister Helen Clark over the foreshore and seabed controversy on 18 November 2004. [11]

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The pamphlet

Selwyn admitted being in the vicinity of the electorate office that morning, and that he participated in the composition and distribution of both versions of the statements which explained that the protest was a symbolic act and also called upon "like-minded New Zealanders" to take "similar action" of their own. During his trial Selwyn refused to answer questions concerning the other people involved.

Sedition is defined within New Zealand as being "speech, writing or behaviour intended to encourage rebellion or resistance against the government". Selwyn was charged under section 81(1)(c) of the New Zealand Crimes Act 1961, which forbids any publication which intends to "incite, procure, or encourage violence, lawlessness, or disorder". The New Zealand Police cite the pamphlet as being seditious.

Selwyn has appealed against the sedition conviction, calling the decision "dangerous and undemocratic" [12] and having serious implications for freedom of speech [13]. However, Judge Josephine Bouchier said when summing up that Selwyn knew the documents were unlawful and intended to encourage lawlessness and disorder, and the police were quoted as saying the verdict was a "victory for society". [14] Selwyn's appeal will be heard by the High Court in February 2007.