Te Pāti Māori to boycott NZ Herald over Hobson's Pledge ad

Friday, 9 August 2024

The ad from Hobson's Pledge featured on the Herald's newspaper edition on August 7.

Te Pāti Māori are boycotting the NZ Herald over their front-page ad from the Don Brash-led lobby group Hobson's Pledge.

The advertisement, which featured in the Herald's newspaper edition on August 7, said the foreshore and seabed must be 'restored to public ownership'.

According to RNZ, Te Pāti Māori is demanding an apology from the newspaper and its parent company NZME.

Te Pāti Māori has announced a boycott of the New Zealand Herald.

In a statement provided to RNZ, co-leader Rawiri Waititi said the advert was full of deceitful misinformation designed to sow resentment of Māori, and the party would 'no longer engage with the New Zealand Herald after their disgusting attack'.

'The New Zealand Herald have allowed themselves to be bought off by a well-resourced anti-Māori collective. They have promoted misinformation on their front page so they can feast off the anti-Māori agenda being pursued by this government,' he said.

Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said the party was demanding the Herald and its parent company NZME apologise to tangata whenua in all publications and radio stations, formally apologise for staff members and advertisers, review advertising standards including a robust plan to protect tangata whenua and a process for checking the accuracy of adverts.

'This is not about Hobson's Pledge. Their racism is well-known. It's about the integrity of the media and their moral obligation to the indigenous people of this land,' she said.

'It's about their obligation to do their due diligence and uphold the truth.'

An NZME spokesperson told Stuff that the advertising responsibility sits with NZME’s commercial team and is separate from NZ Herald editorial.

“We’re keenly aware of our obligations as a publisher and broadcaster, including in respect of legislation and Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) codes,” the spokesperson said.

“The content is a paid ad from an independent advertiser and is clearly labelled as so.

“There are thousands of ads placed across our platforms every week and publishing an ad is in no way NZME’s endorsement of the advertised message, products, services, or other.

“We’re reviewing our processes and policies around advocacy advertising,” the spokesperson added.