This article is more than 1 year old

Australians LOVE our Free Trade Agreements

And we'll spend $10 million on ads to prove it

The Australian government has taken a break from trying to resuscitate the limping Trans-Pacific Partnership to spruik the Australia-China Free Trade Agreement.

It's decided that the opposed-by-unions, loved-by-business and ignored-by-Joe-Sixpack trade pact needs the support of an official government advertising campaign.

The government has approved the tender for a AU$9 million advertising blitz to teach Australians to stop worrying and love the FTA – even though the legislation approving the pact hasn't passed through parliament.

The immediate future of the agreement will rest on the country's senate, since the Opposition has been hinting that it might not rubber-stamp the deal.

Its concerns relate to whether Chinese companies would have to test the Australian labour market before importing staff wholesale on lower wages.

Hence the need for a propaganda campaign in support of the agreement.

According to Fairfax, the booty has been shared by advertising outfits Dentsu Mitchell ($6.6 million) and 303 Lowe Group ($1.3 million), with nearly $900,000 to go to PR and market research agencies. ®

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