Rita Panahi: How Daniel Andrews’ advertising spin is costing taxpayers a fortune

The state government is not only blowing taxpayers’ hard-earned money on major projects but Victorians are also forking out for the Premier’s self-promotion.

The Andrews government is spending massive amounts of taxpayer money on advertising. It’s not just in the delivery of major projects that the state government is blowing your hard-earned cash, but also in the delivery of its own messages.

This government spent more than any other state on advertising in the first half of 2022, according to Nielsen advertising spend figures.

Only the entirety of the commonwealth government outspent the Andrews government, which on the list of top spenders came ahead of Australia’s biggest corporate advertisers including Harvey Norman, Woolworths, News Corp, Wesfarmers and Nine Entertainment.

Victoria’s Labor government outspent Amazon, McDonald’s, the Coles Group, Telstra and the big banks led by the CBA.

Given the enormous size of Dan Andrews’ media unit, one wonders why it needs to spend so much on advertising. Then there are more than 90 staff who work in the Premier’s office, plus about another 200 advisers floating around other ministerial offices.

Given the enormous size of Dan Andrews’ media unit one wonders why they need to spend so much on advertising. Picture: AAP

As opposition spokeswoman for government scrutiny Louise Staley told SkyNews.com.au:

“Daniel Andrews has outspent even Harvey Norman on advertising … and that company has daily ads in major newspapers. The Andrews Labor government is all spin and no solutions, all about itself and not about Victorians.”

The Premier has certainly been clever in using social media to build his brand and bypass traditional media outlets.

He has not simply relied on the strength of his message to amass followers, instead he has pulled out the cheque book to ensure maximum reach. In the first three months of the year he outspent every other politician in the state on Facebook, with 117 ads costing more than $40,000.

In comparison Matthew Guy spent less than $14,000 while the cashed up Climate 200 group, pushing Green policies under the teal brand, spent a massive $327,000, and Clive Palmer spent $132,000, on Facebook ads.

The state spend-a-thon is nothing new. In 2021 the Andrews government also outspent every state government and came in third behind the commonwealth government and Harvey Norman, according to Nielsen Ad Intel.

In this election year the mad spending has elevated the state government to No.2 for advertising spend. Victorians are paying for the Premier’s self-promotion as he heads for a third term.

Rita Panahi is a Herald Sun columnist