National ‘feebate’ advertising complaint rejected

The Advertising Standards Authority has found no grounds to proceed with complaints over the National party’s advertisements attacking the government’s proposed ‘feebate’ scheme.

Complainant J Cooper felt the advertisement was seeking to deceive those who viewed it about the scheme.

“I also believe they are seeking to deceive those they influence by implying that low income earners will be required to pay fees under the policy which only applies to newly imported cars,” Cooper’s complaint says.

“The advertising repeats the words ’small fee’ without providing any broader context, a reasonable viewer would believe that it applies to all car sales rather than just new and second hand imports. This advertisement is clearly spreading misinformation about the proposed policy.”

The complainant also felt the ad deceived viewers by claiming it is a Labour Party tax, when the Minister pictured in the advert was the Green MP Julie Anne Genter. The complainant also implied her photo had been edited to make her appear less attractive.

The chair of the ASA noted the material was an ‘advocacy advertisement’, and as such National was “entitled to put forward its opinion of the policy being considered.”

It noted the implication the ’tax’ was a Labour one was not misleading, as the party is the major member in the coalition, and the policy would not go ahead without the party’s backing.

The chair also found there was no evidence the picture of Genter had been edited, and it did not meet the threshold to demean or denigrate the politician.