‘Decision to cut public safety advertising from all print newspapers reckless and negligent’

Victoria’s firefighters union has joined others, including a victim of the deadly Black Saturday bushfires, in slamming the Victorian government’s “reckless” decision to cut newspaper safety ads.

Dr Lachlan Fraser, who suffered through the Black Saturday fires, knows better than most the importance of community safety messages. Picture: Sharon Walker

Victoria’s firefighters union has lashed the Andrews government’s “reckless” decision to cut public safety government advertising in newspapers, warning such a move will put lives at risk during emergencies.

Fears have been raised that vital information and community campaigns on road safety and public health as well as bushfire safety and fire preparedness will all be axed under Daniel Andrews’ edict to stop print advertising in the Herald Sun and The Age.

United Firefighters Union secretary Peter Marshall said: “The Andrews’ government’s decision to cut public safety advertising from all print newspapers is reckless and negligent and puts the lives of Victorians at risk.

“Public safety messaging around the maintenance of smoke alarms, safe cooking practices and bushfire awareness is absolutely critical in educating the community about managing the safety hazards in their homes and around their neighbourhoods,” he said.

A well-placed advertising industry source questioned the logic of cutting print ads.

“Many, many government departments use newspapers to promote campaigns,” they said.

“Government advertising is important for public knowledge.

Peter Marshall, national secretary of the United Firefighters Union. Picture: Aaron Francis

“Metropolitan readers are being discriminated against.”

The employee, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the ban hadn’t been properly thought out, stating that “nobody had any inkling it was coming”.

“From my experience, he (Daniel Andrews) does things off the cuff and then everyone has to pick up the pieces.”

Newspaper advertising proved a vital information tool during the state’s flood emergency in October last year.

Rochester flood victim Becky O’Sullivan said not everyone in the community can rely on social media for important updates.

“This information is 100 per cent so important … and (newspaper advertising) will capture all the people in our community who aren’t on Facebook,” she said.

Warrnambool City Council Mayor Debbie Arnott said not everyone had caught up to the digital age.

“A lot of people read those papers daily so I think they should probably advertise on those platforms,” she said.

“Particularly for rural or older people they may have some digital problems.

“I’ve dealt with community members just recently that didn’t have access to email or a computer, not everyone is there yet to be so digitally focused.

“Maybe they could have phased it out a little or trimmed it back, a little bit of warning might have been a good thing.”

Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor Shane Sali said key emergency information could be missed by print consumers.

“Broad local messaging is vital for important emergency information to be shared throughout our region, especially after October’s floods,” he said.

“I’d like to think you’d want to tap into all media markets possible.”

Mr Marshall says the decision to axe ads is “reckless and negligent”. Picture: Aaron Francis

Opposition emergency services spokeswoman, Ann-Marie Hermans, said: “A blanket ban on print advertising will only mean a less informed community and punish Victoria’s most vulnerable.”

“Newspapers and printed media have always played an important role in providing safety information including significant weather concerns, bushfire updates, road toll and health and safety initiatives to the Victorian community,” she said.

Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes on Friday defended the decision but conceded it would impact on the emergency services portfolio.

She said, however, she didn’t believe that impact would be “significant”.

“My advice is that that will not have a significant impact on bushfire or flood awareness campaigns,” she said.

“In an emergency preparedness there are a range of other means that agencies use to communicate advice, such as radio, TV, warnings issued by the BOM and the Vic emergency app, websites, social media,” she said.

“There are a range of community events which is a way to engage with people in their local towns about the risks that they should be aware of.”

Ms Symes rejected concerns about difficulties in communicating messages to senior Victorians.

BLACK SATURDAY VICTIM SAYS ADS ARE VITAL SAFETY MESSAGING

A prominent GP who lost his Marysville home and many friends in the Black Saturday bushfires has slammed the state government’s ban on newspaper advertising.

Dr Lachlan Fraser, a GP in Marysville and Alexandra, said newspapers were an essential source of public safety information for Victorians and must remain.

“I feel like we’ve been cut loose to find our own way,” he said. “That’s what we pay leaders for – to help educate and help the population prevent disasters befalling them or impacting on them.

“As a doctor, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

It comes a day after revelations that vital information and community campaigns on road safety and public health as well as bushfire safety are set to be axed as part of Premier Daniel Andrews’ edict to ban government print advertising in the Herald Sun and The Age.

Dr Fraser said newspaper advertisements may not be cheap, but were far cheaper than the alternative if the state faced another major disaster.

Dr Lachlan Fraser at his rebuilt property in Marysville. Picture: Sharon Walker

“If you’re looking at the cost of an education program, versus rehabilitation and rescue and recovery, if you can prevent a fire breaking out for a start with fuel reduction and property preparedness and being fire aware, if you can stop a fire from happening then you’re on a winner there,” he said. “Then if a fire happens, if you can prevent people dying and injuries and loss of property, you should be on a winner as well. I’m sure the bean counters can look at that.”

Dr Fraser said print was a better medium than TV for conveying lifesaving bushfire safety messages.

“It’s there in front of you, and you can tear it out, or you can look up the website at the time,” he said.

“It’s a prompt right in front of you. I think it works better.

“Bushfires are the greatest environmental danger we have in Victoria, to life and property, and everybody needs to have bushfire awareness. It’s something you don’t want to learn on the hop, which happened to a lot of us in 2009.”

Dr Fraser said that as long as newspapers continue to remain an important source of information for Victorians as demonstrated by current figures, print ads must continue.

“There’s a lot of tourists that come to bushfire-prone areas and they have no awareness of bushfire risk,” he said.

The front page of Wednesday’s Herald Sun.

Dr Fraser lost his original home in the deadly fires.

“There’s also a lot of longtime residents who get complacent. Years have gone by since a major bushfire, and I think everybody needs to be reminded to renew their bushfire plan and become aware of the dangers.”

Mr Andrews on Wednesday said he was “not interested” in reviewing the ban, and will focus on television and digital advertising.

But co-CEO and co-founder of Australian travel company TripADeal Rich Johnston, which uses print advertising regularly, said that the Victorian Government’s outlook was in “complete contradiction” to trends he has witnessed.

“We’re seeing the opposite actually, we’re seeing a resurgence in the response to our print advertising,” he said

“It’s a tried and tested medium that the public have interacted with for generations, and we don’t see anything changing.”

The Herald Sun is Australia’s biggest-selling masthead and almost half of all Victorians read a newspaper each month, with 2.6 million picking up a copy of the Herald Sun or The Age paper. This audience is growing and dwarfs viewership of nightly television news bulletins.

Opposition emergency services spokeswoman Ann-Marie Hermans said a significant part of the community used daily papers as their source for important safety information. “Banning government print advertising significantly reduces communication with the aged and vulnerable communities who need it the most,” she said.