Labor Defends $20 Million Fuel Ad Campaign as ‘Modest’

Labor has defended a $20 million (US$14 million) advertising campaign encouraging Australians to use less fuel, as questions continue to linger over the reliability of supply amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

The ad campaign is scheduled to run across multiple platforms, including social media, billboards, posters and TV on April 13.

It encourages motorists to drive smoothly, avoid excess weight, maintain tyre pressure, steer clear of peak-hour traffic, and use alternative transport such as buses or walking.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the “modest” campaign was a good use of taxpayers’ money, noting that it provides information many people are not aware of.

“I certainly spoke to someone last night who, just getting out and about here in Canberra, who wasn’t aware, for example, that taking the roof racks off your car will reduce the weight and reduce the fuel that you use,” he told ABC News.

“That’s good for saving fuel. Guess what? Saves money as well. That’s something they hadn’t thought through.

“So, these practical measures, every little bit does count and does make a difference. And this campaign is a modest campaign, but it’s important as well that we get that direct information to people about the four levels that we’re engaged with.”

Albanese also raised concerns about people stockpiling fuel in jerry cans in their garages, saying it is not a safe practice.

“That was behaviour that not only didn’t help the situation, it also could be quite dangerous to fill up your garage,” he said.

“It’s a bit different filling up your garage with fuel as opposed to filling it up with toilet paper that we saw happen during the COVID pandemic.”

Meanwhile, Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said misinformation was rampant on the fuel situation and that people needed to know where to go for the “right information.”

“These are all practical ways that people can make a difference,” she told Sunrise program.

“Some of them they might know about already, some of them they don’t know about, I think it’s a good investment.”

The minister also pointed out that the new ad campaign is a far cry from the $340 million the former Coalition government spent on advertising in 2021–22.

Criticisms of Government’s Ad Campaign

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce said the ads showed the government did not have an adequate grasp of the fuel situation.

“Now you wouldn’t be having a stupid ad telling people not to use fuel if we were completely confident we had enough of it here,” he said.

“It’s ridiculous. Remove your roof racks. I mean is that, is that our policy, is that our policy to get through the fuel crisis, remove your roof racks?”

Shadow defence spokesman James Paterson also criticised the ads, calling them government political propaganda.

“When petrol is more than two dollars a litre and diesel is more than three dollars a litre, Australians know you shouldn’t spend more than you need to on your fuel bill,” he told 2GB Radio.

“And what they want the government to do is make sure that we get the fuel we need, it goes to the service stations where they want to fill up, and prices come down.

“And 20 million dollars lecturing them about how to drive is the last thing they need in a crisis like this.”