31-May-2010
Portfolio Media Releases, The Economy, Funding
Topics: Kevin Rudd misleading the Parliament; Government advertising campaign, Labor’s great big new tax on mining
E&OE
ANDREW ROBB:
I would like to make some comments if I could about this advertising campaign, that’s been quite improperly planned.
In my view, what we are seeing has all the hallmarks of a conspiracy to grossly mislead the Australian people.
It would appear that over several weeks the Government has sought to orchestrate a campaign whereby they could conclude with a massive advertising campaign. The Prime Minister without doubt has understood this and agreed with it all along.
It could well have been planned even before they announced the tax. It was certainly planned before the Budget, long before the mining industry started to make major protests about the tax.
It is a situation where the Prime Minister, in my view, has clearly misled the Parliament. He stood up last week and swore black and blue that this tax had had no impact on the market, had no impact on exchange rates, had no impact on share prices, and said to Tony Abbott “wrong, wrong, wrong”.
He said that on two occasions last week, at the same time his Minister Ludwig was making a decision to agree to Treasurer Swan’s request for an advertising campaign, the $38 million advertising campaign, which was based solely, solely on the pretext that the tax was starting to affect the market.
So clearly he has misled the Parliament; he needs to come out today at the earliest opportunity and give a full and frank explanation as to why he has misled the Parliament.
QUESTION:
Andrew is it appropriate for young LNP members up in Queensland to be denigrating Gough Whitlam by holding a ‘let’s celebrate the near death of Gough Whitlam party’.?
ANDREW ROBB:
It’s the first I’ve heard of it to be honest. I can’t comment on something I haven’t had any knowledge of.
QUESTION:
You say that Kevin Rudd potentially misled the Parliament last week over the value of share markets going down as a result of the resources tax, but how about external factors, such as the problems in Greece and the Dow Jones, also having a bit of a bad run last week?
ANDREW ROBB:
Well clearly, if he’d taken the opportunity, as no doubt he did, I can’t believe that he didn’t, look at all the graphs of the Australian dollar against other exchange rates.
Greece is the problem, Europe’s the problem, money was fleeing out of Europe and yet our exchange rate went down further than European currencies; went down further than the Brazilian currency, went down further than the Canadian currency, we are usually in lock-step with the Canadian currency.
Clearly the Government knew all along that this mining tax was having an impact on the market, was affecting superannuation funds and the superannuation returns of Australians.
I think it is appalling that this Government has in a sense orchestrated this fight with the miners, because that’s what it smells like, it looks like Mr Rudd was keen to have a fight with the miners. They have planned an advertising campaign for several weeks now, long before this thing became centre stage.
They, I think for crass political purposes have been prepared to sacrifice the reputation of Australia as a safe investment haven around the world. They are putting anything at risk in the interests of their political skins.
And it is appalling I think that the Government would do what they’ve done and the Prime Minister has been so complicit in this that he’s been prepared to stand up in the Parliament and say black is white.
To say that the tax is in no way affecting the market, when his own ministers, at the same time his Treasurer and his Minister of State are making a decision, because of the effect on the market to orchestrate and to introduce a $38 million advertising campaign.
I just say to you, if it’s such a crisis that we need a $38 million advertising campaign, why did they not advertise when we had the insulation scandal.
People were dying, houses were burning and there was mass confusion and uncertainty and fear across the population why didn’t they have [inaudbible] … they are looking for a fight, they want to go to an election with class warfare. And they want to try and divide the nation over this issue for crass political purposes.
QUESTION: [Inaudible]
ANDREW ROBB:
I do think and I have felt for some time, that one, invariably a lot of this political advertising, under the auspice of being Government information campaigns, invariably is ineffective, I think people see through it, I think it is a waste of money.
And I certainly would not be supporting political advertising under the guise of information campaigns.
QUESTION:
So you think that the political advertising that the Liberal Party did for WorkChoices was a waste of money?
ANDREW ROBB:
I think it was less effective than people hoped it would be. And I think this campaign of the Government’s, I think will fly back in their face and that’s an issue that I think all Governments will need to address, state and federal.
We are seeing in Victoria the State Government there spending millions-and-millions-of-dollars on blatantly political advertising and I don’t think it’s doing them any good either.
QUESTION:
So do you think the Opposition will support the Greens motion to legislate an independent review for advertising?
ANDREW ROBB:
I’m not sure of the process, but I do think it does need to have some oversight and we will look at their proposal.
Media Contact: Cameron Hill on 0408 239 521