Chris Bowen (Prospect, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to update the House on the expenditure habits of the Howard government. The arrogance of this government’s expenditure far outstrips that of any previous government, and most arrogant of all is this government’s ability to spend money on advertising. When a government expropriates taxpayers’ money for its own political purposes, it is a sure sign that that government is out of touch, arrogant and has been in office far too long. This week it was revealed in Senate estimates hearings that in the last financial year the government spent $208.5 million of taxpayers’ money on its own advertising. Of this, $137 million was for campaign advertising and $70.7 million was for non-campaign advertising. This represents an increase of 50 per cent on last year, which was itself a very heavy year for advertising expenditure.

Most of this was blatant political advertising. The figure includes $55 million on Work Choices. What it does not include are the blanket T3 ads that we see deluging the airwaves and the newspapers at the moment. It also does not include—because it came after the end of the financial year—the $2.6 million the government has spent selling its LPG conversion grant, a particularly wasteful advertising budget when you consider that people are already waiting six months for that conversion. The government spent this $2.6 million on, amongst other things, 7,000 radio ads across the country.

The forward estimates show that $250 million of taxpayers’ money will be spent on 13 campaigns in the lead-up to the next election—and that on a day when it has been revealed that CSIRO has reduced funding for renewable energy projects. This money could have been spent on investment in skills, it could have been spent on education or it could have been used to partially reverse this government’s cuts to tertiary education. It is the only government in the OECD which has reduced funding for tertiary education. We have one of the highest spending governments on advertising in the world. The same government has reduced funding to universities—and that says a lot. This funding could have been used to improve the security of regional airports, something this government has neglected despite its parading around the country as the champion of national security.

In 1996 the federal government was the third largest advertiser in the country; now it is the largest. Some government advertising is appropriate. It is appropriate that we advertise for Defence recruitment, it is appropriate that the ABC advertises and it is appropriate that certain campaigns are funded. But this government has expropriated taxpayers’ money for its own political purposes, and the Liberal Party should be reimbursing the taxpayers.

Labor in office will have no ad going to air which is not approved by the Public Service Commissioner in line with guidelines issued by the Auditor-General. The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, who is at the table, may smirk but he knows that the public do not approve of their funds being expropriated for political purposes—and this is just a part of this government’s wasteful expenditure. We have seen $1.3 million spent on opinion polling to perfect the government’s messages in its Work Choices campaign. We have seen the budget for opinion polling by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations increase in 12 months not by 100 per cent, not by 200 per cent, not by 500 per cent but by 1,468 per cent. What a coincidence it is that, when this government is bringing in extreme industrial relations changes, it increases its opinion polling budget by 1,468 per cent!

When you look across all portfolios you see that last financial year this government spent $30 million of taxpayers’ money on its own opinion polling. This is another disgrace. And $360,311 has been spent by the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations on Work Choices public relations management. Give the taxpayers’ money back! The Liberal Party should be writing a big fat cheque to the taxpayers of Australia. (Time expired)