A good idea

The Rudd Government has changed the rules around Government advertising campaigns:

But the Government will have to tread carefully to ensure it does not breach its own advertising guidelines, unveiled earlier this week by Cabinet Secretary John Faulkner.

Under the rules, the Auditor-General has to sign off on any advertising campaign with a value of $250,000 or more.

This could be a good policy for NZ. At the moment it is up to Ministers and Departments to decide if their advertising complies with the AG’s guidelines, unless there is a specific complaint or referral.

Requiring the AG to approve any significant campaign in advance seems to me to be a win-win. The Government then has the confidence that any campaign will not be criticised by the AG at a later date, and the public have the confidence that the AG has approved it.