Bending its own rules: Rudd government goes on the attack against miners.
PHILLIP COOREY - SMH - May 28, 2010 - 12:19PM
The Rudd government will waive its own guidelines on taxpayer-funded advertising to fast-track a campaign to counter "misinformation" by the mining sector against its super profits tax.
It claims that misinformation by the mining industry over its resources super profits tax is affecting the value of Australia's capital assets and having an impact on financial markets.
The mining sector has been leading a campaign against the government's proposed tax, with the mining giant Rio Tinto warning that it has the potential to destroy Australia's reputation in the global community.
The government has insisted that the tax would be a 40 per cent take on so-called super profits.
But claiming there was an urgent need to counter the "coordinated misinformation" being promulgated by the mining industry's campaign, the government has exempted itself from its own guidelines on taxpayer-funded advertising.
These guidelines require any taxpayer-funded campaign costing over $250,000 to be vetted by an independent committee.
The Auditor-General was dumped from this vetting role in March.
The Special Minister of State, Joe Ludwig, granted the waiver following a "request" from the Treasurer, Wayne Swan.
The advertisements begin this weekend.
In the federal budget, $38.5 million was allocated for ads promoting "tax reform".
http://www.smh.com.au/business/
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