A campaign to put atheist billboards on urban buses has been rejected by New Zealand’s biggest bus company.
Billboards have already appeared on buses around the world but NZ Bus, which runs services across much of the North Island, has refused to carry them.
The campaign “There’s probably no God, now stop worrying and enjoy your life”, was provisionally accepted by NZ Bus, but now they are refusing.
Atheist campaigner Simon Fisher says that despite the setback, the support from the public has been “awesome”.
“They feel really strengthened by the idea that you can be good without God,” He said.
“We want to provide an alternative voice for the more then one third of New Zealanders that are not convinced by the claims of religion.”
The campaign has been met with a range of opinions both for and against the campaign.
After Mr Fisher's appearance on TV3's Sunrise this morning, the show was flooded with feedback.
One text said: “Yes we have free speech and NZ Buses have spoken! Good on them! They have a right to say what their buses are decorated like.”
It’s a sentiment reflected in emails – including this one from Bev: “Presumably the buses are owned by an individual or company, they are not public property although the public use them, the owners have every right to choose what they advertise.”
Other’s expressed outrage at the perceived quash to freedom of speech.
“I'm a pastor of a Christian church and I think it's outright stupidity not to allow the Atheist ads! It's short-sightedness and is a horrible thing for free speech... I'm sad for the state of the nation,” said Chris in a text.
The billboard debate appears to be an issue that won’t be put to rest any time soon.
3 News