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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-09-25 Daily Xml
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GOVERNMENT ADVERTISING

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (15:08): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Leader of the Government, representing the Premier, a question about government advertising.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: On television screens across South Australia in recent months taxpayers have seen advertisements featuring the Premier lauding his government's efforts to establish a desalination plant and, thereby, save the River Murray. These advertisements include aerial footage of elements of the Murray that would have required the hiring of a plane or a helicopter to fly over those sites with an experienced photographer to take that professional footage. Estimates we have received have put the cost of this advertisement and the production at hundreds of thousands of dollars. On Thursday 11 September, a gentleman called Bill rang commercial radio in Adelaide and said of this advertisement:

Watching Kenny's toilet show on channel...it was all right except on the break. There's Mr Rann pops up with an ad about the desal plant and I thought to myself, this is a waste of money, we already know about it, what's going on?...well it's just a waste of money, we already know about it and I think the Western Australian election and the two by-elections we had recently in the last week, the message was loud and clear that the public aren't going to put up with this sort of nonsense of spin, they want action.

I understand that the government ran print advertisements at a cost of $400,000 promoting its country health plan when it was struggling to get that plan accepted in country South Australia. I also recall that, before the last state election, there were a number of advertisements featuring the Premier outlining how the government was meeting South Australia's State Strategic Plan. My questions to the minister are:

1. Does he condone the spending of taxpayer money to promote the government's activities and achievements?

2. How much did the desalination and River Murray advertisements cost, and how much money does the government have set aside for public advertising of the government's achievements from now until the state election?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Small Business) (15:10): I do not know the cost of those things. I will take those questions on notice.

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