Media Release
Political propaganda under the guise of government advertising
will be banned under a future Labor Government, Shadow Attorney General
Yvette D’Ath said today.
Ms D’Ath said the Strong Advertising Restrictions (Safeguarding Taxpayers’ Funds) Bill 2014, introduced into Queensland Parliament by the Labor Opposition today, would put an end to politically motivated advertisements like those currently being charged to the taxpayer by the LNP.
Ms D’Ath said while current “guidelines” prohibited political advertising within six months of a scheduled election, the Newman Government had refused to adhere to its own rules.
“The LNP aren’t sticking to their own rules when it comes to advertising,” Ms D’Ath said.
“The people of Queensland shouldn’t have to suffer the waste of millions of dollars on political advertising."
“If we had an open and trustworthy Government, millions of taxpayer funds would not be being spent on political advertising campaigns.
“They’re using public money for spin – to try to sell public assets, change pay and conditions of nurses and mislead Queensland patients about hospital waiting lists."
“This legislation is required because the Newman Government is using taxpayers’ money for shameless political advertising.”
Ms D’Ath said the Bill would actually enforce the restrictions in the current code of conduct and introduce a bi-partisan committee to assess proposed advertising campaigns.
Key elements of Labor’s legislation include:
• Adopting the language of the Current Code and legislating to uphold those standards
• Appointing a five-person independent committee – the ‘Advertising Review Committee’ – to approve advertising before taxpayer funds are spent
• Ensuring committee members have bipartisan approval and have experience in law, consumer protection, public finance, public administration or media/communications
• Includes strict requirements for the period six months prior to an election (with exceptions for legitimate advertising such as preparation for natural disasters or road safety).
• The legislation also imposes penalties for Chief Executive Officers and Ministers if advertising proceeds without proper approval.
“The Newman Government is wasting tens of millions of taxpayer money on blatantly politically advertising,” Ms D’Ath said.
“This Bill will help to actually hold the LNP to their own commitments.”
Ms D’Ath said the Strong Advertising Restrictions (Safeguarding Taxpayers’ Funds) Bill 2014, introduced into Queensland Parliament by the Labor Opposition today, would put an end to politically motivated advertisements like those currently being charged to the taxpayer by the LNP.
Ms D’Ath said while current “guidelines” prohibited political advertising within six months of a scheduled election, the Newman Government had refused to adhere to its own rules.
“The LNP aren’t sticking to their own rules when it comes to advertising,” Ms D’Ath said.
“The people of Queensland shouldn’t have to suffer the waste of millions of dollars on political advertising."
“If we had an open and trustworthy Government, millions of taxpayer funds would not be being spent on political advertising campaigns.
“They’re using public money for spin – to try to sell public assets, change pay and conditions of nurses and mislead Queensland patients about hospital waiting lists."
“This legislation is required because the Newman Government is using taxpayers’ money for shameless political advertising.”
Ms D’Ath said the Bill would actually enforce the restrictions in the current code of conduct and introduce a bi-partisan committee to assess proposed advertising campaigns.
Key elements of Labor’s legislation include:
• Adopting the language of the Current Code and legislating to uphold those standards
• Appointing a five-person independent committee – the ‘Advertising Review Committee’ – to approve advertising before taxpayer funds are spent
• Ensuring committee members have bipartisan approval and have experience in law, consumer protection, public finance, public administration or media/communications
• Includes strict requirements for the period six months prior to an election (with exceptions for legitimate advertising such as preparation for natural disasters or road safety).
• The legislation also imposes penalties for Chief Executive Officers and Ministers if advertising proceeds without proper approval.
“The Newman Government is wasting tens of millions of taxpayer money on blatantly politically advertising,” Ms D’Ath said.
“This Bill will help to actually hold the LNP to their own commitments.”
No comments:
Post a Comment