Premier’s need to be ‘Liked’

PREMIER Daniel Andrews wants voters to “Like” him and he will spend hundreds of thousands of taxpayers money on social media enticing Victorians to do it.

It can be revealed at least $281,469 has been spent on promoting his Facebook page.

Millions have seen Mr Andrews’s “sponsored posts” begging users to “Like” him and he also charges the taxpayer to “boost” his free posts so they can be seen by a wider audience.

The two-year Facebook advertising bill does not even include staffing costs to run the page or to produce the flashy videos of Labor projects he often shares.

Critics say the “vain Premier” is spending from the public purse to boost his political profile and has slammed his Facebook page as a taxpayerfunded ad for Labor’s reelection campaign.

But the Government says it has saved $20 million on TV advertising since coming to office and the Facebook page is a minor channel for government communication.

This year Mr Andrews became the most “Liked” Australian politician with more than 387,000 followers — Primer Minister Malcolm Turnbull has 372,646 Facebook likes.

His Facebook page is not covered by the strict guidelines for government advertising.

Legislation before Parliament will also ban unfunded projects to be promoted in paid TV advertising — but the ban will not extend to the Premier’s Facebook page or other social media channels.

A Government spokeswoman said it slashed taxpayer-funded advertising after the previous government spent millions of dollars advertising projects they never built.