Campaign costs challenged

Press, 28 September 1988, Page 6

Campaign costs challenged

The Government’s $2.5 million advertising campaign to publicise the October tax changes will be challenged in Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee today, by the Opposition spokesman on finance, Miss Ruth Richardson. Miss Richardson has re-. leased a Christchurch advertising agency’s estimate of the cost of informing New Zealand taxpayers of the changes. Carlton-Carruthers du Chateau, Ltd, puts the cost at a maximum of $567,710, and has accused the Government of wasting taxpayers’ money for “blatant political propaganda.” Miss Richardson will

put the information before the Controller and Auditor-General, Mr Brian Tyler, during today’s select committee sitting. Her move is part of a sustained Opposition attack on the Government spending on the campaign. A private member’s bill has already been put to Parliament, and voted out, and there has been a - complaint to Mr Tyler, as well as further comment by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bolger, in Christchurch yesterday. “We have already explored with Mr Tyler the appropriateness of having a proper set of rules and procedures which safeguard taxpayers from unprincipled use of public

funds for political purposes,” Miss Richardson said. Carlton-Carruthers said yesterday that the television and newspaper advertising was not needed to inform people of the tax changes. It suggested a better method would have been a mailing to every household by New Zealand Post. That would have cost a total of $141,000 for printing the leaflets, putting them into printed envelopes and delivering them to New Zealand’s 1.15 million households. To inform taxpayers the company said its proposal would have been effective and economical.