House of Assembly Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3) 51 3 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Government GOVERNMENT Mr HAMILTON-SMITH House of Assembly Waite Leader of the Opposition GOVERNMENT Mr HAMILTON-SMITH (Waite—Leader of the Opposition) (14:28): Has the Premier told any media outlets, verbally, in writing or through his staff, that future levels of government funded— The Hon. M.J. Atkinson interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! The Hon. M.J. Atkinson interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: The Attorney can correct the Leader of the Opposition later. Mr HAMILTON-SMITH House of Assembly Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: I will start again. Has the Premier told any media outlets, verbally, in writing or through his staff, that future levels of government funded advertising expenditure will be dependent on coverage for the government of political issues? Yesterday, in answer to a question on taxpayer funded political advertising by the government, the Premier told the house that he would review the level of expenditure to News Ltd publication The Advertiser. He said: I should say that I am aware that the Adelaide Advertiser has been campaigning on this issue to cut expenditure on advertising and, as far as I am aware, we are a major advertiser in that newspaper. Obviously, all of those things would have to be reviewed... The Hon. M.D. RANN House of Assembly Ramsay Premier Minister for Economic Development Minister for Social Inclusion Minister for the Arts Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:30): I am delighted to answer this question. We are reviewing government expenditure. We are reviewing government expenditure on advertising. One thing I will guarantee is this: we are being told by some elements of the media that we should cut our advertising budget, so we will review that, but what I will do is ensure that any review of government advertising is based on the effectiveness of that advertising for the people of this state. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order!