By Friday afternoon, after referring the complaint to the Complaints Board chair, the ASA said a no-jurisdiction ruling had been issued.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo further comment will be made regarding this matter,\u201c said ASA chief executive Hilary Souter.<\/p>\n
Blair Chappell and Matthew Horncastle, founders of Williams Corporation. (Image: Supplied)<\/p>\n
The ruling matched Horncastle\u2019s argument in response to the ASA\u2019s original letter.<\/p>\n
Horncastle posted the reply on his Facebook page. <\/p>\n
\u201cThank you for your email. I have read it carefully. I want to make sure I have understood it correctly,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Advertising Standards Authority is not a government agency. It is a private organisation. It is funded by the advertising industry. It administers a voluntary system that its own members chose to join. I am not a member.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ASA describes itself as New Zealand\u2019s advertising industry regulator and says advertising in New Zealand is self-regulated, funded through member subscriptions and advertiser and media levies.<\/p>\n
Horncastle said he wanted to be \u201cvery clear\u201d that his billboard was \u201cnot an advertisement\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no product. There is no service. There is no client. There is no campaign. Nothing is for sale. Nobody paid for it, and nobody was paid to place it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a private citizen stating a political opinion on a structure he owns. That is not advertising. That is speech.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Moorhouse Ave billboard in Christchurch, owned by property developer Matthew Horncastle. <\/p>\n
On its own website, the ASA outlines that its definition of advertising means \u201cany message, the content of which is controlled directly or indirectly by the advertiser, expressed in any language and communicated in any medium with the intent to influence the choice, opinion or behaviour of those to whom it is addressed\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a broad definition, and it covers advertisements placed across a wide range of media platforms,\u201d the ASA website reads. <\/p>\n
Horncastle explained that his opinion is \u201cprotected by section 14 of the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act\u201d then turned his attention to the authority itself. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis reached me because someone disliked my opinion and you agreed to carry their complaint. So, I would like to understand the body that is now asking me to explain myself. <\/p>\n
\u201cWho funds you? Who sits on your board? And do opinions argued from the left receive the same letter, and the same scrutiny, that mine has just received?\u201d<\/p>\n
Matthew Horncastle having breakfast with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in April. Horncastle has frequently publicised his support for Luxon. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
He went on to question the ASA\u2019s political neutrality before stating that he \u201cwill be direct\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI do not report to a private organisation. I do not report to another private citizen. I do not answer to a club I never joined.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find it offensive that an unsolicited complaint can be turned into a letter asking me to account for my own opinion, on my own property, to people I never invited.<\/p>\n
\u201cSit with that for a moment. A stranger disliked what I think, and here we are. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf anything in this exchange is offensive, it is that. It is not a billboard about tax.\u201d <\/p>\n
Matthew Horncastle in front of his Moorhouse Ave billboard, displaying another political message. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Horncastle\u2019s response concluded by declining the ASA\u2019s request to provide a copy of the advertisement along with any relevant details about the placement and timing of the \u201ccampaign\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI am a free person in a free country. You are free to hold a view about my billboard. Anyone is. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat is how freedom of expression works. You may write that view down. You may publish it. I will not stand in your way. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot compel me, and I will not be assisting you to do it.\u201d <\/p>\n
In a separate social media post, Horncastle mocked the complaint process by suggesting the formation of a new watchdog – \u201cThe Advertising Standards Authority Authority\u201d to \u201cassess the standards of the Advertising Standards Authority\u201d.<\/p>\n
He has since launched a parody website for the \u201cASAA\u201d.<\/p>\n
The billboard owned by Horncastle sits near the Moorhouse Ave overbridge (at Colombo St) on property that Williams Corporation developed on Bath St. <\/p>\n
The billboard sits on a separate title, and Horncastle says a share of its profit is paid back to the property owners. <\/p>\n
The businessman co-owns NZ Billboards with his Williams Corporation partner, Blair Chappell and Digital Simple Director, James Wallace.<\/p>\n