National Party Billboards Questioned for Adherence to Advertising Standards Code

On 5 July, National MP and Minister of Health, Energy, and State Owned Enterprises Simeon Brown posted an image of a new National billboard to his Facebook. 

The advertisement read “TRIPLE + YOUR + TAXES,” with the line “GO WITH LABOUR, GET THE GREENS, AND TE PĀTI MĀORI” underneath. 

The apparent message was that a vote for a Labour-led coalition government in this year's General Election would mean significant tax increases. 

All paid advertising—such as election pamphlets and billboards—is subject to the Advertising Standards Code (ASC), regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The ASA describe themselves on their website as “the organisation that sets the standards for responsible advertising in New Zealand.” They field complaints regarding any advertisement that is targeting New Zealanders, which are considered in relation to the ASC . 

The ASA “runs a voluntary process,” whose work is “complementary to legislation,” so should an advertisement be found to breach code, the organisation can only ask the advertiser to remove the content or delegate to a Government agency. 

Rule 2 (e) of the ASC concerns Advocacy Advertising and states that “Opinion in support of the advertiser’s position must be clearly distinguishable from factual information. Factual information must be able to be substantiated.” 

Labour has not announced a policy that would triple any form of tax in Aotearoa. Its announced tax policy is a capital gains tax, which Labour describes as “a 28 percent tax on any profit made after 1 July 2027 when a commercial or residential property (excluding the family home) is sold.” 

The closest existing system in Aotearoa is the bright-line test, which applies tax to properties sold within 2 years of purchasing in an effort to discourage property flipping. The tax rate scales according to income, falling between 10.5 and 39 percent.

By comparison, Labour’s proposed capital gains tax would be set at 28 percent. While the systems are not directly equivalent, those figures do not support a claim that the tax would be tripled. 

The ASA has already received complaints against National Party billboards during this election cycle. On 8 June, it announced the outcome of “No Further Action” decision on complaint 26/117, which concerned a National Party billboard. The complaint argued  “Parties have a right to advertise their own policies and what they stand for. This is instead literally bad mouthing their opponent…” 

The complaint cited Rule 1 (c) (Decency and Offensiveness) and 2 (e) (Advocacy Advertising) of the ASC. While it was not specified which billboard the complaint was referring to, it was lodged after the launch of National’s “LONG TERM PAIN OR LONG TERM GAIN” billboards. The ASC Chair decided that “…the issue you raised does not reach the threshold to breach the relevant Advertising Standards Authority Codes…”

Political content creators The Bike Shed, Jordan Rivers, and Paul the Other One collaborated on a 6 July Facebook post calling attention to National’s allegedly misleading advertising practices. They encouraged readers to hold their government accountable: “If you spot a claim that looks misleading,” the post read, “report it at the ASA.”