Federal government to launch advertising campaign in favour of FTA with China

The federal government plans to rebut advertising campaigns against Free Trade Agreement with China by launching wide scale taxpayer-funded advertising program. The advertising campaign, which will also sell FTA with Korea and Japan, will cost AU$24.6 million.

The promotions are expected to begin in October, most possibly prior to the Parliament’s approval to the deal with China, which is presently being held before two committees. It will include around 200 road shows, campaigns on the social media, as well as print and television advertisements. National Day of Action or national movement was suggested by one of the MPs on Tuesday in support of the deal and to negate the campaigns led by the Union.

Trade Minister Andrew Robb has termed the campaign by the Union against the free trade deal as “xenophobic, misplaced, misleading, lying.”

“At the moment the union movement is playing a political game and they're trying to stop jobs being created in Australia for their own,” he told reporters in Yass, near Canberra, on Wednesday. Robb also challenged the Opposition to show their support for the deal, saying that it would be a test for Bill Shorten.

Penny Wong, the spokesperson for Labor, has however said that there are questions regarding the safeguards of Australian jobs, which need to be answered by the government. According to the Australian Financial Review, the Union backed by Labor has been protesting vehemently against the import of foreign workers for investment projects worth not less than AU$150 million.

Nick Xenophon, an independent senator, termed the government’s decision to use taxpayer money for funding the advertising campaign as “cowardly” and “grossly irresponsible.” Whereas crossbench colleague Glenn Lazarus has expressed concern that the government is providing too little information on the deal. “I think setting-up an ad campaign at this stage would be a total waste of money,” he told ABC radio.

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