Shouts from the desert

After the national conference of the ALP last week there are two signs that the federal election campaign is now well under way. The first is the start of the Government's taxpayer funded media campaigning. The second is an enormous billboard for Maxine McKew, the ALP candidate for Bennelong, appearing on one of the pedestrian bridges on Epping Road near Lane Cove Road.

The Biggest Government Rort gets Bigger

The Government advertising commenced with advertisements for Government policy targetted at supporting private health insurance and making some adjustments to Medicare. This is the biggest single rort in the political system and I think it fair to describe the use of policy promotional advertisements by the Government using public funds as seriously corrupt conduct. It is true both major parties have done it, but that is not to excuse it. They have no business taking money from us in taxes and using that money to persuade us to keep them in their jobs.

In the past governments have tried to justify these campaigns by saying they are necessary to inform voters of their rights, however the health insurance advertisements shown this weekend are not even arguably within such a defence - none of them actually mentioned what the rights were. Rather the advertisements contained general statements that some changes were coming, telling the audience that the details would be revealed later. Furthermore, the advertisements spent almost the entire time describing the justification for the policy. Describing the justification of the policy has only one purpose: to persuade people of its merits. An advertisement whose purpose is genuinely to inform will spend most of its time giving details, and if justification is mentioned at all it will be only a tiny, brief comment.

This is the most crass example I have seen of the Government using taxpayer money to fund their own re-election campaign. It should be a crime, but even though it is legal it remains inexcusable.

The Billboard

If the size of the Maxine McKew billboard is any indication the ALP are very serious about making John Howard the second Prime Minister in the history of Australia to lose his own seat. I had thought the Ross Cameron billboards displayed on bridges in 2004 were excessively large, but the McKew billboard appears to be twice that size. This billboard is in the north of the electorate, far from the Prime Minister's electorate office near the south-eastern tip of Bennelong, but I would not be surprised if more of them have cropped up over the weekend or will be cropping up in coming weeks. The billboard has excellent visibility for eastbound travellers, being on an large uphill stretch that is visible for a considerable distance.

The slogan on the billboard is "A new face for Bennelong".