Archive for September, 2026
Ad infinitum
Wednesday, September 30th, 2026Yet another ASA decision about yet another National Party ad – a billboard this time. There’s one of these on the motorway between Wellington and Petone and when I saw it I was outraged. I started drafting a complaint to the ASA myself. But then I thought I’d better check the wording. So I drove […]
ASA gets this one right
Monday, September 28th, 2026I think National’s election campaign this year is a particularly deceptive one, and this is another complaint. This time it’s about a mail-out, which parties ought to take particular care with. National claimed that “Labour’s capital gains tax would hit the familybach, rentals, small businesses and KiwiSaver.” See if you can work out the justification […]
Another problem with the ASA’s election complaint process
Monday, September 28th, 2026Here’s a complaint against a National Party Facebook and Instagram ad, again falsely implying that Labour is proposing nine new taxes (though to be fair it doesn’t seem to explicitly mention Labour). The ASA chair decided there were grounds to refer it to the complaints board for consideration. But then National simply said the ad […]
A few notes on the OIA scandal
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2026A Ministry of Education official has been caught on video telling staff not to write down their feedback from the Minister’s office because it is “OIA-able”. It’s not good. It looks like an attempt to create a misleading impression that feedback on a draft curriculum didn’t come from the Minister’s office. It may be a […]
Stuff gagged – wrongly?
Friday, September 18th, 2026The High Court has granted an injunction against Stuff Ltd preventing it publishing a report into potential conflicts of interest at a law firm receiving legal aid money. It seems the law firm was referring work to a firm that produced cultural and alcohol and drug reports for court. That firm was owned by two […]
Interesting Media Council splits
Friday, September 18th, 2026The Media Council (formerly the Press Council) hears complaints against print or text based media, alleging unethical conduct such as inaccuracy or lack of fairness or balance, or invasion of privacy. The complaints board comprises a combination of journalist and non-journalists picked to represent the public and is usually chaired by a retired judge (currently […]
BSA cop out?
Thursday, September 3rd, 2026I’ve just accused (below) the Advertising Standards Authority of copping out by refusing to uphold a complaint by finding that an assertion of fact is a statement of opinion. I think the BSA sometimes does the same thing. But at least it argues it out. It recently rejected a complaint against Mike’s Minute. Hosking was […]
ASA cops out again
Thursday, September 3rd, 2026Looks like the Advertising Standards Authority is doing its usual thing in letting political parties get away with blatantly misleading ads by pretending that they are opinions. It’s a bit difficult to tell, because the ASA’s website’s new display format provides so little information about the complaint, the ad complained about, or the ASA’s reasoning. […]