The federal government is a big spender in the world of advertising, regularly outspending big corporations such as McDonald’s, Telstra and Coles. New data published Friday by the Ministry of Finance shows that in the run-up to the May 2022 election, advertising spending by the coalition government has skyrocketed even further.
The past fiscal year was the largest year on record for taxpayer-funded advertising. The previous federal government spent A$339 million on taxpayer-funded advertising campaigns in 2021-22, well above the average over 25 years approximately $200 million per year.
In the first six months of 2022, the previous government was the largest consumer of advertising in the country.
The Morrison government ran 28 separate advertising campaigns last year – the most on record. Many were for legitimate purposes, such as an $89 million campaign encouraging uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine and a $25 million campaign urging people to fill out the census.
But sometimes taxpayer-funded advertising campaigns seek to confer political advantage. This is often achieved by including party slogans or colours, and/or touting government achievements – often in the run up to elections.
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Why is government advertising skyrocketing ahead of the election?
Taxpayer-funded advertising typically increases during election years, and 2022 was no exception.
In the six months leading up to the 2022 elections, the coalition government has spent approximately $180 millioncompared to around $120 million in the six months leading up to the 2019 election.
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An otherwise legitimate campaign could be strategically conducted before the election to encourage a positive impression of the government. For example, an $18 million federal government campaign on recycling was called by the Labor opposition at the time “Ridiculous and interested greenwash“.
But typically, pre-election advertising also contains messages that appear politically motivated – promoting the government’s policy platform on key election issues.
For example, the $28.5 million emissions reduction campaign – the third costliest campaign of the year – ran from September 2021 to April 2022 and aimed to promote “good progressOn reducing greenhouse gas emissions and switching to renewable energy. The campaign clearly used messaging that created a positive image of government performance, and lacked a call to action that could justify it on public interest grounds.
Analysis of the Grattan Institute shows that typically about a quarter of public spending on advertising is politicized in one way or another, by both sides of politics. Historically, about $50 million on average each year has been spent on politicized campaigns.
The old governmentCOVID-19 Economic Recovery Planfell into this category, because it blatantly stimulated the government in place, without requiring any action or change in behavior on the part of the citizens.
Officially, the campaign aimed “to inform Australians of the government’s response to the recurring challenges they face and to reassure them [us] there was an adaptable and forward-looking plan for the economy.
This was criticized by Labor Senator Tim Ayres in early 2022, who asked:
What possible public objective is there in ‘Australia’s Economic Plan – we’re taking the next step’? […] What are people being asked to do other than vote liberal?
Why is the politicization of taxpayer-funded advertising harmful?
The politicization of taxpayer-funded advertising is wasteful and creates an uneven playing field in elections.
Government advertising budgets far exceed expenditures by individual political parties, even in election years.
We won’t know until February 2023 how much political parties spent in the 2022 federal election. But as the 2019 election approaches, the Coalition spent $178m, Labor $122m and Clive Palmer $89madvertising representing only part of their expenses.
Read more:
How money influenced the 2019 federal election – and what we can do to fix the system
How things should change
The new federal government has announced it will cut taxpayer-funded advertising, but by how much is still unclear. Labor has promised to tackle The advertisement as part of its broader audit “rorts and waste”.
This promise to cut wasteful spending will be better if the tested work tightens government advertising rules and oversight.
Public money should not be used to advance government policies. It should only be used for public service advertising campaigns that contain a clear “need to know” message and a call to action.
An independent group should be established to verify compliance. The panel should have the power to push back against campaigns that aren’t compliant – whether they’re politicized or, more generally, don’t offer good value for money.
And if the rules are broken, then the political party – not the taxpayer – should foot the bill for the entire ad campaign.
Establishing a proper process is the only way to truly reduce waste and restore public confidence in truly important government messages.
Kate Griffiths and Anika Stobart are co-authors of New Policy: Depoliticizing Taxpayer-Funded AdvertisingGrattan Institute, 2022.
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