Federal and state governments are spending almost $450 million a year on advertising campaigns –  more than Harvey Norman, Woolworths, and McDonald’s – and the ads are increasingly flouting weak rules in the lead-up to elections, according to a new Grattan Institute report.

The misuse of taxpayer-funded advertising campaigns is rife, the policy think tank warns, concluding that of the almost $200 million spent each year by the federal government on advertising, close to $50 million is spent on overtly politicised campaigns.