$272 per family in tax-funded advertising

National Party Families spokeswoman Judith Collins says the taxpayer has funded $272 in advertising for each of the 2500 responses the Families Commission has had to its ‘What Makes Your Family Tick’ campaign.

“The commission’s had a predictably low-key response to its survey, despite an advertising blitz that has cost the taxpayer $680,000.”

The response rate represents just 0.4% of New Zealand’s 600,000 families.

“But we can’t call it a failure, because the Labour Government has failed to set any targets. If there’s no target, no goal, then the Families Commission can never be accused of failing,” says Ms Collins.

“That’s supported by the Minister who said ‘you can’t fault Raj’, after Chief Families Commissioner Rajen Prasad recently handed out a golden handshake to former chief executive, Claire Austin.

“It seems the only aim of the Families Commission in election year is to spend a heap of taxpayer money on advertising so Labour can claim that it is family friendly.

“Of course, this is on top of the $15 million spent on Labour’s ‘Working For Families’ propaganda blitz, which the Auditor-General has strongly criticised.”

National Leader Don Brash is promising to clean up the rules surrounding taxpayer-funded political advertising.

In a recent statement he said ‘we need a coherent set of rules covering departments, agencies, the Parliamentary Service Commission budget allocated to political parties, and ministerial spending.’

“I’m sure that overtaxed, hardworking Kiwis will say Amen to that,” says Ms Collins.

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