Green MP Tamatha Paul has posted a video of her police-themed DJ set at CubaDupa. Video / @tamathapaul
The Green Party’s copyright claims led to changes in billboards attacking Chlöe Swarbrick and Tamatha Paul.
The Sensible Sentencing Trust’s billboards used images without permission, prompting complaints and eventual alterations.
Swarbrick criticised the campaign, advocating for evidence-based debate on public safety policies.
The Green Party’s claims of copyright breaches have forced changes to billboards funded by the Sensible Sentencing Trust to attack co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick and MP Tamatha Paul.
In a statement this evening, Trust spokesperson Louise Parsons confirmed the party had “complained” to the company carrying the two billboards in central Auckland and central Wellington, claiming images used breached copyright.
Parsons said she was “happy” to make the changes, but pointed to Green MP Kahurangi Carter’s member’s bill that sought to water down copyright laws to enhance people’s ability to engage in parody.
“They want copyright laws to protect them when it suits them, just like they turn to the same police they want to abolish when they feel unsafe,” she said.
A Green Party spokesperson said the party had contacted the “advertiser” about the issue but claimed the billboards weren’t changed until the owner of the copyright, the photographer, got involved.
The spokesperson didn’t address Parsons’ comments concerning Carter’s bill.
Billboards with a picture of Green MP Tamatha Paul, seemingly paid for by the Sensible Sentencing Trust, have appeared in Wellington. Photo / Adam Pearse
The billboards, which were visible from Whitmore St in the capital, included a picture of Paul that was used in her successful Wellington Central electorate campaign in 2023.
One displays her picture next to the words “Defund the Police” - likely a reference to Paul’s recent comments speculating whether some police functions could be taken over by other entities.
It also uses a “Vote Green” slogan, very similar to the party’s election campaign slogans.
The second is almost identical but has “Woop Woop! DEFUND DA POLICE” written on it. It’s likely this billboard is a nod to Paul’s use of Sound of da Police by rapper KRS-One during a DJ set at CubaDupa late last month.
Both billboards state they were authorised by Parsons of the Sensible Sentencing Trust, an organisation that advocated for harsher crime policy, such as Three Strikes.
In an earlier statement, Parsons confirmed similar billboards targeting Swarbrick were running in central Auckland, where Swarbrick is also the local MP.
Parsons believed both central cities faced “significant challenges in relation to public safety” and argued Green Party policy wouldn’t address concerns.
“The objective of this campaign is to highlight what and who the Green Party stand for. Because it certainly is not victims.”
Swarbrick, in a statement this afternoon, said her party advocated for “real, evidence-based debate on policy”.
“Are we willing to have a rational, calm discussion about how to genuinely make our communities safer, or will we stay stuck in the knee-jerk shock politics?
“It’s clear right-wing organisations and political parties are keen to shut down any civil discussion about where things have gone wrong and how we could improve - so much for being free speech advocates.”
The Act Party has noticed the billboards, pointing to them in a video posted to its social media accounts.
Stephen Franks, a lawyer who acted as a spokesman for the trust when it was calling for the Government to strengthen its reformed Three Strikes proposal, said he hadn’t seen the billboards but found them entertaining when described by the Herald.
Speaking from a legal perspective, Franks said it was important to determine if the billboards were a genuine attempt to win votes or an attack.
Adam Pearse is a political reporter in the NZ Herald Press Gallery team, based at Parliament. He has worked for NZME since 2018, covering sport and health for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei before moving to the NZ Herald in Auckland, covering Covid-19 and crime.
