Once again on Wednesday watched the most excellent six-part SBS series “Decadence” with Pria Viswalingam. This week he looked at the demise of democracy, and how it’s being eroded by almost monopolistic media ownership, dodgy campaign funding, and a more time-poor populace who can’t afford the time to stay informed (no mention of the internet as a news source though). Meanwhile they continue to cut funding to the ABC and SBS, and portray university librarians (for example) as members of a cultural elite, whereas say Kerry Packer was just this regular bloke.
Who spends more on advertising, McDonalds, Coles Myer, or the Federal Government? (Yes, the winner is our Federal Government). Keating’s campaign spent $9 million on advertising, advertising for the 1998 election cost $29 million. If you want to check out election spending on advertising the budget returns are available here.
In comparison to Australia, Canada (since 2004 at least) has laws that severely restrict contributions to political parties from big business and unions.
