[LINK] Adverts on govt websites

[Jan Whitaker]

I have adblock on my browser so I seldom see any ads at all. This one 
caught me by surprise as a result:

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/ads-to-stay-on-weather-bureau-website-20140120-314uc.html
Commercial advertising will be a permanent feature of the Bureau of 
Meteorology website and the federal government has refused to rule 
out running ads on other publicly funded websites.

In April the Gillard government introduced the first trial of 
advertising on a government website on the bureau site for one year.

But, after Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey warned 
of steep spending cuts with the next budget, a government spokeswoman 
refused to rule out the spread of commercial advertising to websites 
such as Centrelink, the Australian Taxation Office and Australian Job Search.
[snip]
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So now we pay tax plus we are 'sold' (for those who see the ads) to 
commercial outfits as well? Something's wrong in there. The article 
sites dependence for budget.
Another aspect of 'self-funding' that has begun in the public service 
and various commissions. I'm aware of a policy for that in of all 
things: AUSTRAC.

Maybe the thing that is bothering me is that the govt sets up 
regulatory offices then charges those being regulated to pay for 
them, so has zero incentive to determine the priority of a budget 
line to pay for it in the first place. Quite a racket, if you ask me.

Jan


Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com

Sooner or later, I hate to break it to you, you're gonna die, so how 
do you fill in the space between here and there? It's yours. Seize your space.
~Margaret Atwood, writer

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