IRD sits on $8 million advertising budget

Advertising agencies will be clamouring to get their hands on an astounding $8 million that IRD will spend over three years to promote the Working for Families package, says National’s Revenue spokeswoman, Pansy Wong.

The Inland Revenue Commissioner revealed the advertising budget to a parliamentary select committee yesterday.

“Just as bad as the size of the budget is that IRD admits it doesn’t know where that money will go – they are still deciding what to do with their millions,” says Mrs Wong.

“This clearly shows the Government is out of control with its spending on promoting the vote-buying Working for Families package, which will benefit only an additional 48,000 people.”

Mrs Wong says that means IRD will spend $150 on each additional person eligible for the package.

“This is a ridiculous amount of money for any Government to spend on an advertising campaign, on a message they are yet to decide how to sell.

“It’s time the Government starting spending taxpayers’ money more wisely”.

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>