Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell. Photo / Laura Smith
Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell has criticised Hobson’s Pledge for using her image without permission in a social media post critical of Māori wards.
The post also used quotes from Tapsell, which she claimed were misrepresented to “mislead” people into believing she was aligned with the political lobby group’s messaging.
“You do not have my permission to use my image or comments to mislead the public that I support your campaign,” Tapsell said on Facebook in a response to the post on Hobson’s Pledge’s page.
The post used quotes from Tapsell from two separate instances, taking parts of comments from May 2021 and October 2022.
Tapsell voted against Māori wards for Rotorua Lakes Council in 2021. But in 2024, when faced with a council vote on whether to have a poll on Māori wards at the 2025 local elections or disestablish them, Tapsell supported a vote.
The image in question was an NZME photo, which Hobson’s Pledge used without permission or purchasing. NZME, publisher of the Rotorua Daily Post, confirmed it approached Hobson’s Pledge asking it to take down the image for copyright reasons, which it did.
Hobson’s Pledge later reposted the same quotes attached to a different image of Tapsell, this time from the Rotorua Lakes Council website. It also accused Tapsell of using a copyright complaint to avoid a “difficult” conversation.
Tapsell said she was “surprised” and “truly shocked” when she found out her image was being used by the organisation.
“I’ve never been associated with, and don’t ever intend to be associated with, Hobson’s Pledge,” she told Local Democracy Reporting.
She clarified her current views on Māori wards in Rotorua, saying she stood by her views expressed in 2021 and 2022, but that they were specific to Rotorua, not Māori wards as a whole.
“We’ve been so lucky here in Rotorua that we’ve often had at least 40% of the council being of Māori descent and, of course, myself as the first Māori female mayor.
“When Māori wards were introduced, I could see the need for them elsewhere, but equally I had concerns about how it would work practically here in Rotorua.”
It needed to be “a local conversation”. She supported Rotorua’s “retention of Māori wards as they are”, although she would like a return to representation reviews for future shaping of the council.
Hobson’s Pledge leader Don Brash said he stood by the posts and the organisation was “not prepared” to make any changes.
He confirmed Hobson’s Pledge did not contact either Tapsell or NZME to ask for permission to use the photo, nor did it contact Tapsell to confirm whether she stood by the quotes attributed to her.
“We can’t help that,” Brash responded when asked how the image might incorrectly align Tapsell with Hobson’s Pledge.
“What we’re quoting her as saying is what she said. She was opposed to Māori wards, and I think we are totally within our rights to quote the things that she said in 2021.”
It is the second time in a matter of weeks that Hobson’s Pledge has found itself in the firing line for how it uses imagery in its messaging. The use of Rotorua woman Ellen Tamati’s photo in a nationwide campaign caused controversy in early August.
The Advertising Standards Authority received dozens of complaints, and Hobson’s Pledge removed the billboards and offered to apologise.
Brash said Hobson’s Pledge usually took images from recognised photography sites.
He said the initial use of an NZME image of Tapsell was believed to be legitimate, but it was replaced after concerns were raised.
“We are not the least bit concerned that we did anything inappropriate.”
Tapsell said she would not be taking her complaint any further, as she felt “there’s not much point” engaging with Hobson’s Pledge.
A binding poll on Rotorua’s three-seat Māori ward will take place alongside Rotorua Lakes Council elections for mayor, councillors and community boards in October. Tapsell is seeking re-election as mayor.
Across the country, referendums on Māori wards will be held across 42 councils - 37 local and five regional.
Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.