Taxpayer-funded health activists bully Youthline against advice
16 APRIL 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Taxpayer-funded health activists ignored advice from the Ministry of Health, Auckland Council, and Auckland Transport,
to bully a company into dropping a promotion to raise money for Youthline, reveals the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.
Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says, “Healthy Auckland Together (HAT), a coalition of public
agencies and taxpayer-funded health groups, used taxpayer money to try and shut down a Youthline fundraiser because they
objected to a Coca-cola billboard.”
“HAT complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about a Coca-cola bus stop billboard because it was 550m away
from a school. This particular billboard encouraged people to text a number to donate to Youthline.”
“You would think that a public health group would be concerned about youth mental health, but in this case, HAT is
blocking vital Youthline revenue for the sake of nannyism and anti-capitalism.”
“This organisation is turning into a group of zealots. They ignored advice from their own partner organisations Auckland
Council, the Ministry of Health, and Auckland Transport."
Correspondence obtained under the OIA reveals all three had explicitly asked to be left off the ASA complaint, with the
latter two citing a lack of evidence for making a complaint. The correspondence can be viewed here:
https://www.taxpayers.org.nz/advice_to_hat
“At worst, we are looking at out-and-out dishonesty; at best, it is unprofessionalism of the worst kind,” says Mr
Williams.
“The question remains as to why other taxpayer-funded groups are backing this political campaign. The New Zealand
Transport Agency, for example, should have no role in this sort of thing.”
ENDS