Summarised by Centrist

Last year, TVNZ’s Mata Reports aired Trick or Treaty hosted by Mihingarangi Forbes alleging that the Taxpayers’ Union had a secret agenda tied to Australia’s Voice referendum. 

It also targeted The Atlas Network, suggesting it was involved in Australia’s “No” campaign, while ignoring key facts like its equal connections to the “Yes” side.

According to Jordan Williams of the Taxpayers’ Union, at least two Broadcasting Standards Authority complaints have been upheld against Forbes and her producer.

The Atlas Network is chaired by Debbi Gibbs, a New Zealander living in New York, who argues that the organisation promotes human rights, freedom, and economic liberty through a global network of independent think tanks. 

Williams sat down with Gibbs to clarify The Atlas Network’s mission. Gibbs states that the organisation operates without corporate or government funding and focuses on local solutions to issues like property rights for indigenous groups and reducing bureaucracy for traders in Africa and India. 

Also, according to Gibbs, the claims about its involvement in oil and gas interests are baseless and that neither Atlas Network nor its partner organisations receive government funding. 

Gibbs further says that Forbes didn’t reach out to The Atlas Network for comment. She also asserts that the organisation, despite widespread online rumours, is not involved in any political party in any country. 

“We don’t fund political campaigns at all,” she said. 

Listen to the whole interview over at NZTPU on YouTube