GrodsCorp

Tough on propaganda

Tuesday 11 September 2007, 6:29 pm

The Editor

Categories: Australia Decides '07

Tags: advertising, drugs, JohnHoward, propaganda, ToughOnDrugs

Got home from work this afternoon and found this (PDF) government ~~propaganda~~ information booklet in the post box. You know it’s an information booklet because the contents page says so.

But before we read a single word of information or guidance to parents about drugs we have to scan through a page containing lots of information about the Man Of Steel behind the Drugs Policy Of Steel.

Not to mention lots of information about just how Tough On Drugs™ the Howard government has been.

The next fifteen-or-so pages is a bunch of generic drug info that looks like its been lifted straight from Wikipedia and whacked together in Publisher with some Getty images of needles and white powder.

Then on page 18 comes the real reason for the booklet.

The next four pages are nothing more than coalition campaigning with bold declarations about government spending and initiatives over the life of the coalition government.

Everyone knows that governments-of-the-day use taxpayer money for partisan advertising but reading shite like this, and thinking about how much taxpayer coin was spent producing and posting it, makes my blood boil. And of course, the fact this shows up on my doorstep less than two months before an election is a total coincidence.

19 Comments

Magic Bellybutton (Tuesday 11 September 2007, 6:41 pm) #

I found mine in the letterbox today to. Am considering sending it back to the government with a request for my money back.
brokenleftleg (Tuesday 11 September 2007, 6:45 pm) #

I got mine too.
And how successful has the $1.4 bil investment in the war on drugs been? Drugs have never been cheaper, more widely used, and more readily available.
phil (Tuesday 11 September 2007, 8:03 pm) #

There’s a lot of blood boiling at the moment.
Bruce (Tuesday 11 September 2007, 8:20 pm) #

Have you seen the new callback line and Employment Ombudsman ads on TV that lack the authorization message at the end?
brokenleftleg (Tuesday 11 September 2007, 8:33 pm) #

I seriously think a 2 week delay in calling the election will cost about $20 million in ads
Bruce (Tuesday 11 September 2007, 9:54 pm) #

On the other hand, the sooner it is, the more people get caught unprepared and screwed out of a vote. Howard-22.
The Editor (Wednesday 12 September 2007, 8:11 am) #

Haven’t seen those ads, Bruce. You emailed the AEC?
Mikey (Wednesday 12 September 2007, 12:24 pm) #

They are utterly shameless this lot. Any excuse to stay in power with unbelievable propaganda like this crap.

How fucking dare they sully a public health message with electioneering. Wait a minute, who am I talking about here! Of course they will. Yet another reason to boot them to the curb.
Bruce (Wednesday 12 September 2007, 12:27 pm) #

You emailed the AEC?

I’ll do that right now I think.
Bruce (Wednesday 12 September 2007, 12:31 pm) #

Damn… Finding the appropriate (email) contact details is rough… I think I’ll just try to tape the ad then bring it in to the local AEC office.

Means watching late night telly though :(
Mikey (Wednesday 12 September 2007, 2:25 pm) #

I emailed my local member with a link to it and asked if they could ask the government what the fuck they were thinking.
Bruce (Wednesday 12 September 2007, 4:04 pm) #

What “it” are you talking about Mikey?
Hairball (Wednesday 12 September 2007, 7:30 pm) #

Hey Ed,
You could always email Today Tonight and ACA with this and let them do one of their fair and unbiased report on it..
I received mine today. I cant imagine how much of our money would have been on this! Its blatant election advertising!
I mean, even before opening the plastic, you are confronted with the words “AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM THE PRIME MINISTER” followed by “Tough on Drugs!”
The words “The Australian Government” are plastered strategically on every page either side of the cut and paste job of info on drugs, and may as well be replaced with the words “The Australian Liberal Party”
Very frustrating
CK (Thursday 13 September 2007, 8:17 pm) #

So if you plait your daughter’s hair and have the good fortune to live in a fantastic FU house on the Mornington Peninsula she won’t get hooked and will eventually marry a stockbroker? Well, that’s comforting.

On PM tonight it was reported that a parliamentary committee headed by none other than Bronwyn Bishop reccommended that the government cease funding to all harm-minimisation programs and adopt a zero-tolerance policy.

This mob are so seriously fucked they could double as a Las Vegas brothel (apologies to LVBs)
CK (Thursday 13 September 2007, 8:20 pm) #

BTW, that kid looks strangely disengaged and resentful. I’d say she’s been doing bongs.
Mikey (Friday 14 September 2007, 9:37 am) #

What “it” are you talking about Mikey?

A link to the PDF filled with propaganda.
joe2 (Friday 14 September 2007, 8:14 pm) #

“On PM tonight it was reported that a parliamentary committee headed by none other than Bronwyn Bishop reccommended (sic) that the government cease funding to all harm-minimisation programs and adopt a zero-tolerance policy.”

Look, it is my bet, that Bronny is hooked on hairspray fumes. She has to come clean. Does anybody think she has any involvement with Bishop Animation?

See ‘Drugs are bad’ here…
http://bishopanimation.blogspot.com/2007/01/drugs-are-bad.html
Bridgit Gread (Sunday 16 September 2007, 3:31 pm) #

Drugs are bad but being a deranged, coiffured old neo-fascist loon is inherently worse (at least you can get off the drugs, if you try).
templemonkey (Tuesday 18 September 2007, 5:15 pm) #

I think it seriously time that Angela Bishop got her mother sent to a nursing home, preferably one close to a kerosene supplier.