"I call on the New Zealand Government to commit to politically neutral, transparent, and accountable government communications. 

Government agencies should meet New Zealanders where they are, not where public servants prefer them to be."

Why Is Political Neutrality So Important?  

Government agencies are quietly leaving major social media platforms, abandoning established audiences and retreating to niche alternatives with a fraction of the reach. Some agencies have seen their followings drop by over 98%. 

When the public service retreats from the digital "town square" without a clear, public justification, it risks undermining its core duty of neutrality. The current lack of transparency leaves New Zealanders questioning how these decisions are being made. Without objective criteria, these exits risk creating a "two-tier" information system - deciding which audiences are worth reaching and which are left in the dark.

The Public Service Act 2020 requires the public service to foster open government and facilitate active citizenship. New Zealand is a signatory to the Open Government Partnership, which commits to using technology to make government accessible. Walking away from platforms used by hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders is inconsistent with both.

With a general election on 7 November 2026, access to accurate, neutral, government information matters more than ever. 

Public servants don't get to choose their audience. They serve all of us, regardless of which platform we use.

The Free Speech Union believes that Government Agencies should uphold these four principles:

The Principle of Non-Discrimination: Government agencies must remain ideologically neutral in their communication strategies, ensuring that decisions to join or leave a platform are never based on political or editorial preferences.

The Principle of Universal Access: The public service has a duty to meet New Zealanders where they are. No citizen should be effectively "de-platformed" from receiving official information because an agency has abandoned a major communication channel.

The Principle of Transparency: Any decision to withdraw from a public platform must be supported by a transparent, publicly available impact assessment. Decisions should be driven by data and duty, not subjective preferences.

The Principle of Accountability: Agencies must be held accountable for their reach. Taxpayers deserve to know that publicly funded communications are being used to reach the widest possible audience, rather than being restricted to niche or exclusive channels.

Government communication should be about reaching people - not retreating from them.