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# Revealed: Government Spends $183,000 Advertising ‘Clean Car Discount’
- URL: https://goodoil.news/revealed-government-spends-183000-advertising-clean-car-discount/
- Published: 2021-08-23T00:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2021-08-22T05:52:59.000Z
- Author: Guest Post
- Tags: Advertising, Media, NZ, NZ Politics, Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-07-17 01:54

**Louis Houlbrooke**  
[taxpayers.org.nz](https://www.taxpayers.org.nz/news?ref=goodoil.news)

*The New Zealand Transport Agency (Waka Kotahi) has spent $183,751 advertising its Clean Car Discount, reveals the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.*

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/31/f4/31f4e20a-0315-499e-83ff-139e8eab53bf/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/cleancar2.png)

An [official information response shows](https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/taxpayers/pages/1776/attachments/original/1628641030/OIA-8424%5FResponse.pdf?1628641030&ref=goodoil.news) the advertising campaign was developed by Clemenger BBDO and ran for most of July including print, radio, posters, flyers, Google ads, and “content partnerships”.

What a pointless exercise in self-promotion. The amount of media attention this feebate scheme has received since it was announced has surpassed anything NZTA might hope to achieve through paid advertising.

Regardless, retailers of low-emissions vehicles already have an incentive to promote the discount themselves. If the widely-publicised discount is failing to attract people to electric vehicles, that suggests a problem with the policy itself.

The most egregious part of this campaign is the $34,000 allocated for ‘content partnerships’ with Stuff and NZME. In other words, NZTA is buying positive media coverage. This raises serious questions about the independence of the media. How can a media outlet effectively scrutinise a policy when at the same time they’re paid to promote it?

Examples of the advertisements can be viewed [here](https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/taxpayers/pages/1776/attachments/original/1628719646/cleancar2.png?1628719646&ref=goodoil.news) and [here](https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/taxpayers/pages/1776/attachments/original/1628644252/cleancar.PNG?1628644252&ref=goodoil.news) (bottom right). The online ‘content partnership’ can be viewed [here](https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/EVs/125624025/clean-car-discount-next-step-in-nz-emissions-reduction?ref=goodoil.news).

The ads weren’t just wasteful but misleading, saying that the scheme would help you ‘do your bit to help get New Zealand to carbon neutral’. Anyone with a basic understanding of climate policy knows that in New Zealand carbon emissions are capped and traded, so choosing an EV over a petrol vehicle just frees up emissions to be produced elsewhere under the cap.

**Please share this article so that others can discover *The BFD***.