A talk by former National Party leader Don Brash to Massey University's Politics Society has been cancelled due to security concerns.
The Palmerston North talk was scheduled for tomorrow, but was cancelled by the university due to security issues, Vice Chancellor Jan Thomas said in a statement.
It said the risk to harm to students, staff and members of public was of concern, and also referenced Mr Brash's support for far right duo Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux.
"Mr Brash’s leadership of Hobson’s Pledge and views he and its supporters espoused in relation to Māori wards on councils was clearly of concern to many staff, particularly Māori staff," the statement read.
"Whether those views would have been repeated to students in the context of a discussion about the National Party may seem unlikely, but I have no way of knowing. In my opinion the views expressed by members of Hobson’s Pledge come dangerously close to hate speech. They are certainly not conducive with the University’ strategy of recognising the values of a Tiriti o Waitangi-led organisation."
In a statement, Mr Brash, part of the Free Speech Coalition, said he supported Southern and Molyneux's right to speak, but didn't endorse their views, and hit out at the Vice Chancellor.
"I believe the Vice-Chancellor’s position is a disgraceful contradiction of publicly-funded universities’ role in hosting robust debate and the free exchange of ideas.
"On Thursday night I am scheduled to take part in a debate at the University of Auckland. We now fear that the University of Auckland too will give in to the vocal minority. The University must commit to providing a secure environment for free speech, lest it spark a domino effect that will wipe away the long-standing tradition of free expression on university campuses."
He said he was concerned upcoming talks by the likes of Nigel Farage and Pauine Hanson were vulnerable to "thug's veto".
Mr Brash has told 1 NEWS he doesn't know what the security issues mentioned by Massey University are.
"I assume that someone has made a threat. And rather than saying 'we'll look after that, the police will be there', they've said 'look you're banned, you can't come'."
He said it's "depressing" that he's been banned from speaking at a university "because in the United States there've been a number of cases where prominent speakers have been banned from speaking. I think we must not go down that route in New Zealand.
"People who have questioned the status quo throughout history have been the people who frequently are at the forefront of your thinking. Shutting it down at university of all places is an appalling thing to be doing."
SHARE ME