Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the senator for his question. When we were elected in 2007, this government committed to cleaning up the taxpayer funded spending spree that was the Howard government's system. We have delivered on that commitment. When we were elected, this government was faced with a system that had next to no independent oversight and no integrity. Before Labor introduced the Independent Communications Committee there was simply no scrutiny of government advertising. Labor introduced tough guidelines which governed the content and presentation of campaigns, removed ministers from an active role in campaigns and significantly reduced costs.

Advertising is driven by the legitimate need to inform the public about their rights, their entitlements and their obligations, including advertising for: the census campaign; ongoing Defence Force recruiting; health campaigns like Quit Smoking and on obesity and illicit drugs; and the digital switchover. We have increased reporting requirements and, unlike the Howard government, we have set out exactly how much taxpayer money is spent on campaign advertising.