The Taxpayers’ Union says that Netsafe’s latest television advertisement is a political use of taxpayers’ money and should be pulled.
Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams said, “If this advert was published by a Government agency, it would rightly be
slammed as too political. But because NetSafe is not part of the Government, the usual rules of political neutrality
don’t technically apply. NetSafe have forgotten that they’re still taxpayer funded, and running politically charged
campaign ads in the lead up to an election is totally inappropriate.”
“Firearm rights are likely to be an emotive issue, and the ad is tone deaf.”
“The fact is that for hundreds of thousands of kids being brought up in rural communities, hunting bunnies is a part of
childhood. The ad paints hunters as acting irresponsibly – it is illegal to discharge a firearm in a residential area.”
“The ad looks like it was created by a bunch of woke Ponsonby creatives, with no idea of the rural way of life. To
publish the ad within only a few days of the third reading of the Arms Amendment Bill suggests that NetSafe has no idea
of their duty to play these issues with a straight bat.”