A spotlight on hate speech in the wake of the Royal Commission's findings.

The inquiry into the March 15 terror attack found there had been an inappropriate concentration of counter-terrorism resources, on the threat of Islamist extremist terrorism.

Massey University's Paul Spoonley, told Tim Dower we need to rethink what hate speech is today.

"Police have questions to answer on how they will record hate speech, and whether other agencies will take a closer look at it."

Spoonley says the commission recommends early intervention on hate speech.

He says the inquiry found evidence of a direct link between hate speech and hate crime, with online threats taking shape in the real world.

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