Recognise these two NZTA / Waka Kotahi ads promoting the Government’s “Road to Zero” strategy?
Together, the ads have cost taxpayers $4.7 million. Production costs alone totalled $1 million per ad.
This is on top of the $2.4 million spent on the infamous ‘Safe Limits‘ ad, highlighted in a recent Taxpayer Update.
Perhaps more concerning than the cost is the content: the ads do no contain any positive road safety or educational messages. Instead, they serve to promote Government policy, warming up New Zealanders for lower speed limits.
We think the ads breach the official Guidelines for Government Advertising which prohibit using taxpayer money to promote a policy agenda – so we’ve written to the Public Service Commission to request an intervention.
Not to mention the recent logo/name change that had me thinking Waka Kotahi was a scam when a recent RUC demand came through. New Zealand transport Agency is written so small that I needed a magnifying glass to be able to read it once I’d had a back and forth with NZTA about this. They conveniently take 10 days to respond to any email and in the mean time I received demands to pay fines. My last email told them I won’t be paying their fine as they failed to notify me of a name change from NZTA to Waka Kotahi, whatever that means? The last time they changed their name from Land Transport New Zealand they forewarned me with a letter. I even reported the letter to their scam department only to receive an email back saying without the original letter they can’t do anything. I did attach the letter in my report and the respobse was rather snotty.
We’ve decided not to use “Waka Kotahi,” only NZTA as the former is a nonsensical name. Maori who we’ve spoken to agree. There’s nothing wrong with a Te Reo name as such, provided it does not create a false association with Maori, and it makes SENSE.
To compound the confucion NZTA are creating they still send out licencing renewals to me with the old style NZTA logo. I just wish that they would infowm people about what they are doing and stick to one thing rather than chopping and changing. Isn’t a Waka a comunal boat anyway?