12 March 2009 in Media
Rann hung by Rudd Guidelines
The Auditor General today confirmed South Australian Premier Mike Rann and his Ministers are in breach of the Rudd government’s political advertising guidelines.
Today in the Public Audit and Accounts Committee hearing into the Auditor General’s report on government advertising, I asked the Auditor General whether adverts with politicians appearing in them would breach the guidelines. The answer was yes. I cited the specific example of Mr Rann appearing in ads to the Audit Office and they agreed that it would fail the test.
This confirms Mr Rann’s blatant abuse of taxpayers money for his political benefit.
At a time when Mike Rann is sending the State Budget into massive deficit he is misusing public money for his own electoral benefit. For instance this money could be used to assist the communities on the Lower Lakes to survive the water crisis.
It should be remembered that Mike Rann once said that when you see a politicians face in a government ad it is political. The Auditor General agrees with him.
It is embarrassing in the extreme for the Rann Government to be caught out in such a public way by his comrades at the Federal level.
Some examples of these ads are listed below.
"Murray futures" - http://www.water.sa.gov.au/catchments.php
"Desalination plant (Sept 2008)" http://www.water.sa.gov.au/desalination.php
http://www.premiersreadingchallenge.sa.edu.au/prc/pages/books/HOMEpage/?reFlag=1
Lomax-Smith's "SA Great" http://www.sagreat.com.au/media/sa-great-media-campaigns