Green Party files complaint over attack billboards linking leaders to gangs

The Green Party has filed a formal complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority against the Sensible Sentencing Trust over new election attack billboards. The ads show Green co-leaders Chlöe Swarbrick and Marama Davidson alongside Labour leader Chris Hipkins with the words "BACKING THE GANGS" placed above the Greens' own slogan "for all of us".

Details and Reactions

The Campaign Company, which is owned by Taxpayers' Union boss Jordan Williams, created the billboards. The Green Party described the Sensible Sentencing Trust as an astroturf group created by the Taxpayers' Union, though a Taxpayers' Union spokesperson stated the union did not make these specific ads. Sensible Sentencing Trust spokeswoman Louise Parsons denied being part of the Taxpayers' Union, confirmed the involvement of Williams' company, and stated the ads aim to warn voters against a Labour-led coalition due to past crime rates. JC Decaux, the media company that owns the billboard spaces, has paused the ads during a review. Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick criticized the campaign and asked Prime Minister Christopher Luxon to condemn it. A spokesperson for Luxon directed questions to the organisation behind the ads, while a Labour Party spokesperson called the ads nasty and untrue but stated Labour would not file a complaint.

Context

Billboard election advertising in New Zealand is subject to standards set by the Advertising Standards Authority to ensure advertisements do not mislead voters about who is paying for them. The Sensible Sentencing Trust previously used a similar style for billboard campaigns ahead of previous elections. Political parties often clash during election cycles over third-party interest groups running independent advertising campaigns.