ALP reminds Libs of big Hanke spend

Labor hits back on ad dollar fight:

LABOR has raised the Liberals’ big spend on a fly-in fly-out adviser in response to government criticism of the Tasmanian ALP’s decision to engage an interstate advertising firm.

The Tasmanian Labor Party has come under fire from the Liberals for spending a secret sum on Labor-linked advertising and strategy heavyweights from the mainland to help it try to secure majority government.

Labor’s move to engage the Moss Group has drawn criticism from the State Government, which has accused the ALP of “next-level hypocrisy” for snubbing local jobs and outsourcing its election campaign advertisements to Melbourne.

The company has had success helping topple Liberal governments interstate and improving the fortunes of the Federal ALP.

Liberal Party state director Sam McQuestin criticised the outsourced ads, saying the Liberals’ campaign ads were “proudly 100 per cent pure Tasmanian”.

Senior Tasmanian Liberal MP and Health Minister Michael Ferguson said Opposition Leader Rebecca White was outsourcing her election campaign to a Victorian firm at the expense of Tasmanian business.

“Ms White has snubbed Tasmanian businesses that are often involved in election campaigns and failed to support the workers employed by the businesses,” Mr Ferguson said.

“It’s also a massive slap in the face for the Tasmanian workers whose union dues paid for these ads, most likely unawares.”

Labor state secretary Stuart Benson said the criticism from the Liberals was “desperate”.

“This is all a bit rich coming from Will Hodgman and the State Liberals who paid an interstate spin doctor, Mr Ian Hanke, $934 of public money a day, without a contract,” Mr Benson said.

“It is also hypocritical of the Liberals who themselves have engaged interstate companies such as the Barton Deakin to help them with election campaigns.”

In the early days of the Liberals’ reign, conservative spin doctor Mr Hanke was employed on $934 a day on a handshake deal with the Government. The informal arrangement lasted for months until a contract was drawn up after inquiries by the Mercury.

At one stage Mr Hanke netted $20,000 for a month’s work as a fly-in fly-out consultant.

Mr Benson said Moss Group had runs on the board in other successful Labor election campaigns, having helped Labor’s three Tasmanian federal candidates topple the “Three Amigos” last year.

He said the company would be establishing an office in Hobart.

“They have a lot of experience working in Tasmania and a lot of success in political campaigns. The Labor Party is taking this election very seriously and we are campaigning very hard for majority government,” Mr Benson said.