Morrison government spent $ 128 million on advertising in 2019-20, figures show | Australian politics

The Morrison government spent a total of $ 128 million on advertising last fiscal year, including $ 5.2 million on market research for the advertising campaigns, new figures show.

A report released by Finance shows that the largest campaigns for the health of Covid-19 ($ 47.8 million)

It also shows that Resolve Strategic, an agency owned by Jim Reed, a longtime researcher with polling firm Crosby Textor, received $ 203,000 from a $ 408,000 contract for research related to the Treasury Department’s campaign.

In October, Labor raised concerns that $ 1.1 million had been spent on two market research projects conducted by Resolve Strategic on community attitudes about Covid-19.

The opposition said that this amounts to “thinly disguised political research” funded by the taxpayers rather than the Liberal Party because the results are shared with the offices of the Treasurer and Prime Minister.

Other major campaigns included $ 7.1 million for the introduction of tax changes, $ 5.5 million for the Help Is Here campaign for domestic violence, and $ 4.2 million for childhood vaccinations and 3 million

Campaign ad spend was even higher at $ 140 million in 2018-19, though the lower $ 128 million spend this fiscal year was due to a meager end of 2019 before the government got into the first six months of the year Unlocked $ 96.7 million in ads in 2020.

The financial report shows that contracts with Resolve Strategic, Snapcracker Research and Strategy, Hall & Partners, ChatHouse Research, Kantar Public Australia, and JWS Research spent $ 5.2 million on market research.

Labor also criticized the government for advertising government bonds with the slogan “This is our comeback”, which is not included in the 2019-20 figures.

Members of government are increasingly using the term “comeback” in Question Time and other parliamentary debates, leading the opposition to question whether the term is the product of focus group tests.

In Question Time on December 3-8, Labor Shadow Ministers Jenny McAllister and Katy Gallagher said the campaign cost taxpayers $ 15 million and the government “congratulates itself” while families struggle with unemployment or poor wage growth.

On December 10, Labor leader Anthony Albanese told Parliament that the government was “spending millions of dollars telling Australians there is a comeback, arguing that companies are in such great trouble because of the pandemic.” they are allowed to ”. Wage cut “.

The government has blocked the publication of Resolve Strategic research under the Freedom of Information Act as it could “interfere” with government operations.

Treasury officials have confirmed that more than $ 500,000 worth of market research had informed the taxpayer-funded $ 15 million advertising campaign of the economic recovery.

Similar controversy arose in Queensland, where the Labor government spent $ 520,000 on market research on community “insights” into the coronavirus but blocked its publication.