Health New Zealand spent $490,043.75 on a single advert featuring former Lotto presenter Russell Harrison, documents obtained by the Taxpayers’ Union reveal for the first time.
Harrison, who remained suspended from the Ministry of Justice on full pay for years, was paid $3,000 to appear in the 30-second advertisement.
Taxpayers’ Union Spokesman Tyler Groenewald said:
“The $3,000 payment to Russell Harrison might grab the headlines, but the real scandal is that taxpayers were charged nearly half a million dollars for a 30-second ad.”
“This was not a nationwide rebrand or a major emergency public information drive. It was one advertisement costing $490,043.75.”
The
UPDATE: Health NZ have commented:
Please be aware the $490,000 investment was for more than one single advertisement. It supported a wider campaign at a time where childhood immunisation rates were low immediately post-Covid-19.
I have asked HealthNZ what were the other outputs of this campaign, as it is unclear.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders
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