Swamping the media with taxpayer funded Labor ads

Cartoon: By Zeg

You know that an election is coming on in Australia when you begin to see government departments spending millions of taxpayer dollars advertising their plans, wares, programs, aspirations, inspirations, obfuscations, and lots of free stuff, that you can find out more about by visiting www.australia.gov.au/…. (whateveryoudesire)  You are left in no doubt that the things being pushed are due to the largesse of the current government.

You can also ring 1800 CORNUCOPIA.

All governments do this despite railing against it in opposition.  Kevin Rudd in opposition claimed, “I believe this is a sick cancer within our system. It's a cancer on democracy.”  It appears that in view of that he intends to spend $65 million in government advertising in the lead up to the election: 

TAXPAYERS will fork out $65 million in a three-month government advertising blitz as Labor dips into the public purse to promote its asylum seeker and other pre-election reforms. 

In spending levels not seen since John Howard's controversial WorkChoices' campaign, $25 million was outlaid on television, radio and newspaper advertisements in June - four times the amount spent by Commonwealth agencies earlier this year. 

Kevin Rudd - who labelled government advertising a "cancer on democracy'' when he was campaigning in 2007 - is now using taxpayer funds for a domestic advertising blitz to promote his asylum seeker deal. 

But the controversial move has triggered calls for the Auditor-General to investigate whether the weekend's advertisements - which ran nationally - breached guidelines which Mr Rudd himself put in place following the 2007 election. 

Advertising industry figures show Commonwealth agencies spent $80 million for the six months to June 30 - and this level will rise in the election lead-up. ...

Currently there are ads running on the NBN, education reforms, household assistance, disability care, a ‘plan for Australian jobs’, and the already unraveling PNG solution.