SA government ‘vanity spin unit’ hit with fierce backlash as state’s road safety fight questioned
South Australia’s road safety fight has been called into question amid claims police experts are no longer responsible for official advert campaigns with the introduction of a new ‘hub’.
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South Australia’s road safety fight has been called into question amid claims police experts are “no longer responsible” for official advert campaigns in a new official “vanity” spin unit.
More than 30 state government agencies this week had marketing and communications budgets centralised into a new taxpayer-funded advertising and insights “hub”.
The hub, which the Department of Premier and Cabinet now manages, sparked controversy last year over the lucrative salary to be awarded to its chief spin doctor, which forced Premier Peter Malinauskas to intervene.
But the hub’s operations launched on Monday amid a widespread backlash from public servants, some of whom criticised the new unit as a “vanity project”.
A political row also erupted after the opposition questioned moving road safety campaigns from police to the hub - the details of its operations are secret - amid a dire road toll.
Opposition spokesman Jack Batty said it had been the “worst start to a year in road fatalities in six years”.
“It doesn’t make any sense to me that the experts on road safety campaigns are no longer responsible for road safety campaigns,” he said.
Authorities angrily rejected the criticism as “stunning hypocrisy” after the Liberals “abolished the state’s stand-alone road safety entity in the Motor Accident Commission”.
A government spokesman said there were “no cuts to road safety campaigns”.
“(Our) significant commitment towards road safety campaigns will continue unabated and all expert staff remain engaged in this effort,” he said.
During one heated pre-start meeting involving senior communications managers, sources said criticism of the plans was extensive including from an unnamed civilian police worker.
“How is this vanity project helping save lives?,” the SA Police worker asked the meeting.
Other bureaucrats criticised the unit for “double handling”, managers not treating staff like “humans” and questioned how different initiatives would be treated from publicising Adelaide 500 tickets to promoting the health service without agency expertise.
Police have transferred six staff from its media road safety unit that launched in 2019 while working through “various transition processes including financial implications”, a spokeswoman said.
“This process involves a significant change for staff careers, and therefore can be stressful,” she said.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens this week told MPs the force had been “provided assurances” officers would be consulted on key road safety strategies.
He told the Upper House Budget and Finance committee hearing that the unit, which had produced more than 30 campaigns, had won numerous accolades.
“My expectation is that, notwithstanding the fact that it has moved … we should see the same quality outputs as a result,” he said.
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