It's not the first time Labour officials have hinted at such legislation but not revealed details.
In May, then-Broadcasting and Media Minister Kris Faafoi suggested on the same programme that there may be "some more news" on the issue within "the next couple of months".
"We're committed to making sure that we meet the recommendations of the Royal Commission," he said while acknowledging that the issue is "fraught" and declining to elaborate on potential restrictions or offer a specific timeline.
In the wake of the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks that resulted in 51 deaths, a Royal Commission determined that current laws in New Zealand do not "provide a workable mechanism to deal with hate speech". There is a section of the Human Rights Act that criminalises some hate speech, but it is flawed and "does not provide a credible foundation for prosecution", the inquiry determined.
The Government made some headway on the issue last year, unveiling proposals and inviting public feedback. The intention initially was to have a newly proposed law before Parliament near the start of this year, but Faafoi later acknowledged the process had stalled.
The delay has caught the attention of Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon, who accused the Government in March of allowing hate to "fester and grow" because politicians had decided it was an issue that was "politically too hard to deal with".
"With public consultations finished, the Government must keep up the momentum," Foon said. "... It needs to happen so we can learn from the mistakes of the past and make sure they don't happen again."
The Government has also been criticised by Opposition MPs who have argued changes to the law could stifle free speech.
Act leader David Seymour issued a new barrage of criticism in May, directly after Faafoi discussed the issue on Q+A. It's telling, Seymour suggested at the time, that Faafoi wouldn't commit to getting the law passed before the next election - something that Allan changed today.
"It's time to let this misguided policy go. It's okay to admit when you're wrong and move on," Seymour said. "The hate speech laws would create a divided and hateful society where cancel culture would spiral out of control."
Name suppression 'unfair, outdated'
Allan also said today that she has lost faith in New Zealand's name suppression rules.
"I've sought urgent advice on this particular area," she said. "I don't think it's just, I don't think its fair, and I don't think New Zealanders looking in on the system think the system is working adequately either. "
The statement comes just days after former National Party president Michelle Boag was outed as the political figure previously unnamed in a wealthy businessman's high-profile sex and corruption case. Also this month, an international sportsman who works with young teens was granted interim name suppression after being accused of sexual contact with a 15-year-old and another international sports star was allowed permanent name suppression after he pleaded guilty to assaulting his estranged partner.
When asked if the current system appears to favour the famous and powerful, Allan agreed.
"If you're well funded, well-resourced, then you can seek to have your name suppressed for a range of different reasons," she said. "I don't think that leads to just outcomes."
Allan also took issue with sexual violence cases in which victims who want to speak out must make an application at their own cost to have automatic suppression lifted.
"I don't think that that's fair," she said. "I don't think that that's a victim-centric way at looking at the way these rules apply, and it's certainly something I've sought fast-track advice on because I want to be able to make reforms in this area."
In addition, she noted the Grace Millane case as an example of the system being out of date and not equipped to address social media. From the time of his arrest in December 2019 until long after he had been convicted of killing the British backpacker, it was unlawful to name Jesse Kempson even though his name was commonly enough known that it was searched tens of thousands of times on Google in the immediate wake of his arrest.
Kempson's name was printed repeatedly in overseas media and appeared in social media feeds outside New Zealand and within. The Herald previously found that Twitter's search function was automatically completing his name when typing the first letter of his name.
The issues led then-National MP Nick Smith to label the suppression system as "nonsense" as he addressed Parliament's justice select committee in 2018, but PM Jacinda Ardern said at the time there was no immediate intention to change the law.
The latest justice minister, however, said she sees the merit in considering changes.
"You're operating with laws that were designed in a different time," she said.
