❓ Hon Neil Thomson questions the Minister for Finance regarding the Auditor General's report on government campaign advertising, alleging noncompliance and excessive spending. The Minister disputes the report's findings and denies responsibility for approving advertising campaigns.
AnsweredQoN 598Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
ELECTION CAMPAIGN
ADVERTISING — AUDITOR GENERAL'S REPORT
598. Hon NEIL THOMSON to the Minister for Finance:
I refer to the Auditor General's
report on government campaign advertising of 15 May 2024, noting that the Auditor General said that $205 million had been
spent on campaign advertising and that there had been noncompliance with
principles and policy concerning the spend.
(1) As the senior
minister responsible for the operation of the common-use agreement for
advertising, does the minister take responsibility for the failures identified
by the Auditor General?
(2) Noting that
we are in the lead-up to an election, what steps is the minister taking to
control the aberrant Department of the Premier and Cabinet, which has been
found to have authorised campaigns that were not apolitical?
ADVERTISING — AUDITOR GENERAL'S REPORT
598. Hon NEIL THOMSON to the Minister for Finance:
I refer to the Auditor General's
report on government campaign advertising of 15 May 2024, noting that the Auditor General said that $205 million had been
spent on campaign advertising and that there had been noncompliance with
principles and policy concerning the spend.
(1) As the senior
minister responsible for the operation of the common-use agreement for
advertising, does the minister take responsibility for the failures identified
by the Auditor General?
(2) Noting that
we are in the lead-up to an election, what steps is the minister taking to
control the aberrant Department of the Premier and Cabinet, which has been
found to have authorised campaigns that were not apolitical?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) The
government does not concur with many of the findings of the Auditor General's
report, some of which are inaccurate and contradict the independent review of
WA's COVID management, led by former Liberal health minister John Day.
It found that public communications —
A member interjected.
The PRESIDENT : Order!
Hon SUE ELLERY : It found that public communications were
a critical part of the WA government's response, ensuring Western Australians
had access to the most up-to-date information and were provided with clarity
and confidence, even when the global virus caused mass uncertainty around the
world. The independent review recommended that the same model be replicated
should a future pandemic occur.
(2) I do not accept the premise of the question. The
Department of Finance does not approve advertising campaigns.
some notice of the question.
(1) The
government does not concur with many of the findings of the Auditor General's
report, some of which are inaccurate and contradict the independent review of
WA's COVID management, led by former Liberal health minister John Day.
It found that public communications —
A member interjected.
The PRESIDENT : Order!
Hon SUE ELLERY : It found that public communications were
a critical part of the WA government's response, ensuring Western Australians
had access to the most up-to-date information and were provided with clarity
and confidence, even when the global virus caused mass uncertainty around the
world. The independent review recommended that the same model be replicated
should a future pandemic occur.
(2) I do not accept the premise of the question. The
Department of Finance does not approve advertising campaigns.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.