The Free Speech Coalition suggests that companies supportive of free speech principles should consider refusing to
advertise with Phantom Billstickers, in light of its discriminatory treatment of Speak Up for Women (a group campaigning for consultation on the Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Relationships
Registration Bill).
Free Speech Coalition spokesperson Rachel Poulain says, “Because Phantom Billstickers is a private company, they are not
obliged to provide a platform for speech they disagree with. But the fact that they are discriminating on the basis of
political opinion is a concern. These signage locations are visible to hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders, and will
be perceived as communal spaces. Therefore, the public deserves a heads up that those spaces have become politicised.”
“Companies supportive of free speech principles in the media should even consider boycotting Phantom Billstickers for
its failure to follow those principles.”
“The Human Rights Commission, which has refused to react to recent issues of free speech and political discrimination,
needs to comment on this story.”