Do we need truth in political advertising?

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Do we need truth in political advertising?

4 yrs ago

A petition calling for an inquiry into political advertising is taking off following a federal election marred by deceptive political advertisements.

Kate Johnson who started the petition said the issue should have bi-partisan support to clean up politics before it was too late.

“The recent federal election was marred by frankly misleading and deceptive advertising, with the Australian Electoral Commission powerless to act. Clive Palmer spent $60 million dollars on advertising to undermine Labor’s campaign. Whilst Adrian Kelly, president of the Real Estate Institute of Australia, mislead the Australian public by claiming that Labor’s policies on negative gearing and capital gains tax would reduce property prices and increase rent, claims that are not substantiated by economic modelling,” Ms Johnson wrote.

“Another incident saw signs resembling official AEC signs directing Chinese voters to vote Liberal. Whilst claims that Labor would introduce a death and inheritance tax proliferated on social media and were amplified by the major parties.

“Make no mistake. This should be a bipartisan issue. Both parties ‘play dirty’ and do ‘creative calculations’ at elections. Labor was caught saying the LNP would cut funds to public schools, when in fact they merely promised to spend less than Labor did.

“While less than ideal, the issue of spreading misinformation and manipulation of the public by vested interests is growing and will become a problem larger than the major parties. We live in a time when there is an unprecedented capacity to target the electorate through social media and mobile phones. If we want to safeguard our democracy, we need to act now.

“The Australian people deserve the opportunity to make genuinely informed decisions about their representation in government and should not be manipulated by wealthy special interest groups. We call for a government inquiry into how truth in political advertising laws could be implemented. The integrity of our democracy and the faith of the Australian people depends upon it.”

You can sign the petition here.

What do you think? Should there be more done to stop politicians telling porkies at election time?

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23 comments

Dave R

4 yrs ago

It's a great shame our politicians tell so many lies but the public don't seem to care all that much.

The lie of how great the economy is going under us is about to come back and bite Morrison.

But will most of the public give a damn?

Dave R

4 yrs ago

It's a great shame our politicians tell so many lies but the public don't seem to care all that much.

The lie of how great the economy is going under us is about to come back and bite Morrison.

But will most of the public give a damn?

If pollies told the truth, nobody would vote for them. We all know they're lying, they know we know they're lying, so best plan of action is to vote for the ones whose lies are not too detrimental.

KSS

4 yrs ago

No mention of the Medicare claims from Labor though. Seems that's OK.

Appears to be another whinge from those who did not win the election. Is there nothing more pressing to deal with?

pedro the swift

4 yrs ago

Best laugh is on the ministers who jumped ship cos they were sure scmo wasnt going to win and they want to get their perks first!

ozirules

4 yrs ago

pollies of all persuasions are as slippery as baby poo on an iceberg. Pity they aren't charged with fraud as I would be if I delberately lied to gain financial advantage.

Charlie

4 yrs ago

Please correct me if I am wrong but wasnt it Peter Garrett that said something like 'Oh we will change it (forget which policy he meant) once we get elected'.

The words 'politician' and 'truth' should never be mentioned in the same sentence, but things will NEVER change while we continue to vote for them

Labor only needs to look to arrogant types like Garrett to understand the deep-seated resentment of federal Labor in Queensland. Years drought and years of damaging floods, years of consultancy and engineering work and millions spent acquiring land to deal with the flood and drought but at the very last moment, federal minister Garrett upstaged the Greens to deny Queensland people the Traverston Crossing Dam.

Sophie

4 yrs ago

Whether we like them or not, political ads are an important part of a campaign.

Psychologists and political scientists studying campaign ads found that negative ads might create more thoughtful voters than positive ones.

BillF2

4 yrs ago

All politicians, even though they do not like to admit it, are public servants. They are employed and remunerated (very handsomely) by the citizens of Australia. Therefore, each election should be treated as either a new job application or a renewal of contract. And, as with most job applications, the employer wants to know not only personal details but qualifications and experience, let alone references. However, in the case of Parliament, none of these things are required. Why? Why do we employ people in one of the most important jobs in the land when we know nothing about them except what their parties tell us? In fact the parties have manipulated the system so well, that they have become the focus of elections, not the candidates. The candidates may just as well be monkeys.

At the last election I wrote to the Australian Electoral Commission and asked why they could not provide information about candidates with their blurb about voting or being fined. They replied that it was too hard, but SBS was able to tell us who was standing within a week of nominations closing. So much for public service!

And on the subject of the AEC, they are keen penalise electors for not voting, but are totally impotent when it comes to penalising parties and candidates for misrepresentation and outright lying. Of course it is time for change, but who is going to bring it about when the parties have carte blanche to do anything they want with impunity?

Leonie

4 yrs ago

"In fact the parties have manipulated the system so well, that they have become the focus of elections, not the candidates. The candidates may just as well be monkeys."

I think you have hit the nail on the head with that statement BillF2. I like to try to find out as much as I can about candidates who are standing in my electorate and I look them up on facebook etc. Most of them are too clever to put anything up there that would hurt their chances, but one or two have slipped up, leaving their 'personal' pages open. LOL

I got one of those pre-election survey phone calls a couple of years ago. The lady on the other end of the phone line rattled off a list of names and asked me if I knew who they were. She was amazed that I recognised all the names even though I wasn't quite sure which party some of them represented.

She said in her experience doing that survey, most couldn't even recognise the name of their sitting local member, but they usually knew who the leaders of the major parties were.

Suze

4 yrs ago

BillF2

Unfortunately the polllies think they are our royals and hence act like that.

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Do we need truth in political advertising?

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