Queensland’s new Liberal (LNP) government is reportedly spending at least $4.7 million on a suite of taxpayer-funded advertising campaigns spruiking its major reforms in youth crime, housing and health, just months after criticising its Labor predecessors for similar tactics.
Several large-scale campaigns have been rolled out since the state election, with Premier David Crisafulli’s team defending the expenditure as necessary public information. However, the scale and timing of the spending have prompted scrutiny, particularly given previous LNP criticism of government advertising.
The government has confirmed it plans to spend about $1.85 million on advertisements about youth crime, promoting the second tranche of its Making Queensland Safer laws. That includes new ads championing the “adult crime, adult time” policy and the move to make Jack’s Law, which gives police the power to conduct wanding operations in entertainment precincts to detect knives and other weapons, permanent.
In a statement to the ABC, a government spokesperson confirmed: “With the expansion of the laws, it [the Making Queensland Safer campaign] continues to roll out during April and May, along with health and housing initiatives”.
Another major campaign, “A Place to Call Home,” will cost $1.45 million, according to figures confirmed to the ABC. The campaign highlights the LNP’s housing strategy, which includes scrapping stamp duty on new builds for first-home buyers and a long-term goal to build 53,500 social and community homes by 2044. The initiative formed a key plank of the LNP’s Right Plan for Queensland’s Future, launched ahead of the October 2024 state election.
The third campaign, also confirmed by the government, is a $1.41 million spend promoting the Hospital Rescue Plan, a new initiative spearheaded by Health Minister Tim Nicholls. The plan, which followed a review into Labor’s hospital capacity expansion program, promises to deliver 2,600 new beds and overhaul hospital operations across the state.
Together, the projected costs for these three campaigns total $4.7 million, a figure that does not account for previous ad spend on the first round of Making Queensland Safer promotions.
The government insists the money is being used responsibly. A spokesperson told the ABC that the Crisafulli government is spending less taxpayer funds on ad campaigns than its Labor predecessors.
That comparison is now under particular scrutiny, given the LNP’s strong opposition to Labor’s previous advertising initiatives. Just last year, the LNP condemned the Palaszczuk government’s decision to spend more than $2 million promoting its Big Build infrastructure plan, a campaign that included region-specific ads showcasing major transport, housing and health projects.
At the time, David Janetzki, then Shadow Treasurer and now Treasurer, described the campaign as politically motivated.
“After more than a decade and skyrocketing crises in health, housing, youth crime and cost of living, Labor can’t stand on their own record,” Janetzki said at the time.
Now, as the LNP faces its own questions over millions in promotional spending, Janetzki has not yet commented on the comparisons.
The government insists that all current advertising complies with the state’s advertising code of conduct, which is designed to prevent partisan misuse of public funds. Under the code, government ads must not feature the names or likenesses of MPs, mention the governing political party, or use party slogans.
B&T has contacted the Department of Premier and Cabinet, as well as the Office of the Treasurer, for additional comment and clarification on total expenditure and outcomes tied to the campaign objectives.
