Joint Media Release

The Hon Lindsay Tanner MP
Minister for Finance and Deregulation

Senator Joe Ludwig
Cabinet Secretary
Special Minister of State

57/2009
8 September 2009

Audit of the Government Advertising Framework

The Rudd Government today welcomed the ANAO report on Government advertising, which endorsed the Government’s reforms in the area that have involved slashing expenditure and implementing tough new guidelines on campaign advertising.

Yesterday the Auditor-General tabled a report into the operation of the Government’s advertising framework over the first 12 months of operation.

Special Minister of State, Senator Joe Ludwig, welcomed the conclusions of the Auditor- General, who commended the guidelines on being “particularly useful in establishing the principles required for relevant government advertising campaigns”.

"Upholding our election commitment, the Rudd Government announced the Guidelines on Campaign Advertising by Australian Government Departments and Agencies in July 2008,” Senator Ludwig said.

"Yesterday’s report is a pleasing endorsement of our ongoing efforts to restore the integrity of government advertising.”

"I look forward to working together with the ANAO and agencies to progress any practical suggestion to improve the operation of the guidelines.”

Since coming to office, the Rudd Government has:

Implemented tough new guidelines to govern the development and content of Commonwealth Government campaign advertising, which ensure public confidence that campaign expenditure is legitimately authorised, properly targeted and non-political.
Released the debut report on government campaign advertising expenditures for government departments and agencies in March 2009, in what will become an ongoing series of biannual reports tabled in Parliament and published on the Department of Finance and Deregulation's website.
Introducing a Communications Multi-Use List in March 2009 and published the details of advertising agencies and other specialist communications suppliers eligible to tender for Australian Government campaign work. Through this multi-use list, government departments have access to a wide pool of suppliers who can then be considered to participate in competitive tender processes. Under the previous government's arrangements, details of suppliers eligible to be considered for campaign work were not publicly disclosed.
In addition to these reforms, the Department of Finance and Deregulation will be producing the first full-year report on Government advertising in September 2009. This report will provide more detail than has been available under any previous government.

Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Lindsay Tanner MP, said a priority for the Rudd Government remains reducing inefficiency and ensuring cost effectiveness in government.

"The Government has delivered on its pre-election commitment to reduce government advertising expenditure by $100 million a year,” Minister Tanner said.

"In the 2008 calendar year, campaign advertising expenditure was $86.6 million compared to a blow-out of $254 million by the Howard Government in 2007.”

The ANAO report refers to advised budgets for campaigns, rather than actual campaign costs. In some instances, advised budgets for campaigns span several financial years rather than just the 2008-09 financial year.

For example, the MeasureUp! campaign (Department of Health and Ageing) is a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) initiative that will run over four years, and the total costs are being partially met by State and Territory Governments.

The Department of Finance and Deregulation has already reported on actual campaign costs for the six months between July and December 2008 in the first of what will become a series of ongoing biannual reports.

The first of the biannual reports was tabled in Parliament and published on the Department of Finance and Deregulation's website in March 2009.

The first full-year report on campaign adverting for 2008-09 is scheduled to be tabled in the Parliament at the end of September 2009. This report will encompass the complete financial year and will report on both direct campaign advertising expenditure and associated indirect expenditures such as campaign research and evaluation. This new report will provide more detail than has been available under any previous government.

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Media Contact:	Website:
Minister Tanner's Office - Nardia Dazkiw - 0418 144 690	www.financeminister.gov.au
Minister Ludwig’s Office: - Sarah Cosson - 0423 823 843	www.smos.gov.au