Reasons galore for Helen

Fascinating to see all the different reasons the PM has trotted out for not raising the issue of the Opposition Leader in Singapore being prosecuted for speaking without a licence:

– No-one asked me to say anything

– she had not been advised to do so by foreign affairs officials

– free speech doesn’t meet the threshold for human rights issues

– Singapore is entitled to have its own laws upheld

I tend to view free speech as the most important human right. It is only in the absence of free speech do governments get away with further infringements such as arbitrary arrest, torture, political prisoners, fake elections etc.