Friday, March 23, 2007

NSW Elections 2007 - the art of repackaging

During the week I had cause to look at a new NSW Government election commitment. When I dropped below the headline number I found very little new money. This caused me to go to the NSW Treasury web site to actually check the costing information.

You will find the results in a short post on the New England Australia blog. I knew the NSW Labor Government had developed policy repackaging into an art form, but I had not realised the extent.

I know that I sound like a broken record when I complain about about the current poverty of policy development, but it is another case. Nearly everybody, media included, goes for the headline, none checks the details or the pattern.

I am amazed that no opposition staffer had the sense to check this stuff. I would have thought that there were a number of stories here, like the actual reduction in spend on country water supply and sewerage over the next few years. Mind you, they may have written the stories but found the media unwilling to carry them.

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