Greens' Government Advertising Bill passes Upper House!

A ban on Government advertising of more than $10,000 unless approved by the Auditor-General or both Houses of Parliament is among a raft of changes to crack down on Government advertising in a Greens bill that passed the Upper House last night.

The bill was supported by the Liberals and the crossbench. The Labor Party stated their opposition to the bill but did not call a division.

The Private Member’s Bill introduced by Robert Simms MLC is modelled on a bill that was introduced by Labor in 2021 when it was in opposition.

Under the bill:

The Minister would be required to establish guidelines for Government advertising (the Government voluntarily established guidelines but there is no legislative requirement for them to do so).
MPs and Ministers will be prohibited from being featured in ads
Advertising of bills currently before parliament would be prohibited, along with the promotion of any political party
The Auditor-General will have new powers to investigate breaches and report to Parliament
Any Government advertising of more than $10,000 in the lead up to an election (from July of the year prior to the election) would be prohibited unless approved by the Auditor-General or the Parliament itself on specified grounds

The lines between government advertising and political party promotion are all too often blurred in our democracy. This bill ensures that there are safeguards in place, by putting restrictions on the initiatives Governments can promote through advertising and giving the Auditor General new approval powers for Government advertising in the lead up to elections.

The Upper House has sent Labor a clear message that we want them to crackdown on government advertising. It’s disappointing that Labor stated their opposition to the bill last night, despite proposing something very similar themselves when they were in Opposition. Now that Labor are in Government, they have a responsibility to put their money where their mouth is and back this reform in the Lower House, so that it can become law.

Since winning office, the Labor Government has spent a motza on advertising. $47 million between 2022 and 2023 alone. Labor’s advertising spends have included $750,000 promoting the 2022 stage budget, $1.15 million on its Housing Roadmap, and $1.65 million on the State Prosperity Project. I hope they see this bill as a shot across the bows. It’s time for them to rein this spending in and really demonstrate that it is in the public interest.

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