29 Oct 2003 Legislative Assembly 4451 WEDNESDAY, 29 OCTOBER 2003 Mr SPEAKER (Hon. R. K. Hollis, Redcliffe) read prayers and took the chair at 9.30 a.m. PRIVILEGE Government Advertising; Auditor-General Hon. P. D. BEATTIE (Brisbane Central—ALP) (Premier and Minister for Trade) (9.31 a.m.): I rise on a matter of privilege. I refer to an article which appeared in today's Courier-Mail headed 'Government ads under scrutiny as election looms'. I wrote to the Auditor-General on 21 October in these terms— ... I advise that my Government will be advertising information in relation to the TAB merger, a new hearing service for newborn babies, and seeking to attract investment in tourism in conjunction with the Rugby World Cup. There may be additional advertising, still according to these guidelines. There is no way that my Government is going to miss the opportunity to encourage international and interstate Rugby World Cup visitors to enjoy our tourist facilities or to invest in Queensland. I also wrote to the Auditor-General this morning about the article in today's Courier-Mail because I am concerned that the position taken here, on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition, could politicise the role of the Auditor-General. That is a very serious issue. I seek leave to have incorporated in Hansard the letter I have written to the Auditor-General of 21 October and the letter I have written to the Auditor-General today. I also seek leave to have incorporated in Hansard a statement I put out which draws to the attention of the Auditor-General a matter that is still unresolved—that is, in June 1999, based on the 1998 election, the Australian Broadcasting Authority found that the government advertising for the then Borbidge government, of which the Leader of the Opposition was a minister, engaged in political advertising. That is its determination and not ours. There is still an outstanding amount of $7 million. I seek to have that money reimbursed to the people of Queensland. Leave granted. 21 October 2003 Mr Len Scanlan Auditor-General of Queensland GPO Box 1139 BRISBANE 4001 Dear Mr Scanlan I refer to your letter of 17 October 2003, in relation to Government advertising. The Queensland Government which I lead does not engage in Government advertising for party political purposes. The Queensland Government's Advertising Code of Conduct sets out clearly the criteria which is followed by the Government. This is the first time Queensland has had such a code. You will note that the advertising guidelines clearly provide for the Government to continue to get on with the business of governing, serving the people, up to the calling of the election itself. You will note that the Guidelines state that: "It is not practical or desirable to effectively prohibit all advertising in the lead-up to an election. To assist in determining which advertising should cease, the following information is provided: (a) Normal advertising associated with departmental programs, initiatives or projects is still possible so that such activities are not curtailed (e.g. community consultation communications of project specific information). (b) Social education information (road safety campaigns, health campaigns, any emergency service information etc) is still allowed. (c) "Whole of Government" campaigns, which usually focus on particular initiatives of the Government, need to be carefully considered in the six month period. It should be noted that, in relation to "c", the code does provide for "urgent emerging issues" (e.g. new laws) to be addressed through advertising if required". The time limit on advertising is subject to the above. Accordingly, I advise that my Government will be advertising information in relation to the TAB merger, a new hearing service for newborn babies, and seeking to attract investment and tourism in conjunction with the Rugby World Cup. 4452 Legislative Assembly 29 Oct 2003 There may be additional advertising, still according to these guidelines. There is no way that my Government is going to miss the opportunity to encourage international and interstate Rugby World Cup visitors to enjoy our tourist facilities or to invest in Queensland. Your letter does not mention that I indicated that I was prepared from December 2003 (approximately six months from the last possible election date in May) to communicate with you in relation to any special additional Government projects if you thought that desirable. Should I take it from your letter that you do not wish to proceed with that opportunity? I do want to raise with you a serious concern I have, and that is I believe that if you accept the position put by the Leader of the Opposition, it could well lead to the perceived politicisation of the Office of the Auditor-General. The Auditor-General's reporting on any matter needs to stay strictly within the Act, otherwise it could be viewed as entering into the area of political debate which could seriously affect the perceived independence of the Auditor- General's position, and undermine public confidence in the Office. I urge you to give due consideration to that point in the interests of protecting the independence of your office. I would also be grateful if you would advise whether you, as Auditor-General, have ever examined the issue of Government advertising in the lead-up to a previous election, for example in 1998 when the Coalition was in Office. Indeed, any figures released for any period for example on a monthly basis should be fully compared with the same period of the Borbidge Government, of which Mr Springborg was Minister. This is the only fair and non-political way to examine such advertising expenditure. Len, I look forward to determining a fair, non-political way to proceed on this issue. Mr Springborg's proposal does not achieve that. I would be happy to discuss this matter further with you. Yours sincerely (sgd) HON PETER BEATTIE MP PREMIER AND MINISTER FOR TRADE 29 October 2003 Mr Len Scanlan Auditor-General of Queensland GPO Box 1139 BRISBANE 4001 Dear Mr Scanlan I refer to the comments in this morning's Courier-Mail from both yourself and the Leader of the Opposition in relation to Government advertising. I would like to express my great concern and disappointment at these comments which could give the perception that the Office of the Auditor-General has been politicised. You will recall that I have recently written to you in relation to these matters seeking to avoid your Office being dragged into the pre-election political point scoring. Unfortunately, this has now occurred and on one reading of today's article some commentators may conclude your Office is aligned with that of the Opposition. That is damaging to both your Office and the sensible resolution of this issue. As you know, I also have responsibilities to report to the Parliament and therefore I would be grateful if you would advise the following: 1. Why these comments were made without any opportunity for the Government to fully put its case. 2. Whether you have agreed to prepare a report on the media advertising of the Borbidge Government prior to the 1998 election which was judged by an independent body to have been political advertising. Further, whether you intend to recommend that the National Party repay that money, which I estimated at the time to amount to about $7 million. Len, since your appointment by the Borbidge Government—without any consultation with the then Opposition—I have endeavoured to be supportive of both you and the Office of the Auditor-General. I have done that however, on the clear basis that the independence of your role must be protected and that role must also be non-political. I will be referring this issue to the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, and I will also be referring this letter and my previous letter to the Reviewer of the Auditor-General's Office when that appointment is made. In my earlier letter, I specifically asked for us to discuss this matter further to avoid the political controversy which has now emerged. I am deeply disappointed that you did not avail yourself of that opportunity before this matter became a political issue. Yours sincerely (sgd) HON PETER BEATTIE MP PREMIER AND MINISTER FOR TRADE Att. 29 Oct 2003 Papers 4453 Queensland Government Premier of Queensland and Minister for Trade PREMIER WELCOMES SPRINGBORG PROMISE ON ADS—AND RETURN OF $7M TO TAXPAYERS Premier Peter Beattie has welcomed the announcement by Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg that when governments are guilty of political advertising, their party organisations should pay for the ads. "As Premier I have never used public money to pay for political advertisements," said Mr Beattie. "And even though the next State Election can be held as late as May next year, the Labor Party is already paying for radio advertisements about education. "But I should draw Mr Springborg's attention to a finding by the Australian Broadcasting Authority in June 1999 that five out of six Coalition Government television advertisements which were aired frequently between November 1997 and May 1998 constituted political matter. "The Authority said the advertisements should have been labelled as political advertisements instead of being paid for by taxpayers. "I estimated at the time that the cost was about $7 million. "A spokesperson for the Authority said at the time that the ads were commenting on the political process and were an attempt to influence the political process. "Mr Springborg's predecessors as National Party Leaders thumbed their noses at public opinion and refused to repay taxpayers. "I congratulate Mr Springborg for insisting that political parties should pay for any government advertising which is political.