PREMIER Jeremy Rockliff is significantly outspending, using taxpayer dollars, every other local MP when it comes to boosting social media posts.
Since August 2020 the amount public figures spent on boosting their Facebook posts is public.
Between October 4 and January 1, 13 weeks, the Premier paid Meta, the owner of Facebook, $22,000 to ensure his posts were seen by as many people as possible.
He argued the posts were in the public interest, promoting things such as scholarships for speech pathologists, travel grants for young sports people and West Coast Travel vouchers.
Labor has called on him to justify the spending.
Lyons Labor MP Jen Butler said with the state in the grips of a health, housing and cost of living crisis, the Premier spending taxpayer money over three months on social media is “a huge slap in the face to hardworking Tasmanians doing it tough”.
“The Premier needs to outline why he thinks it’s a priority for taxpayers for him to spend their money on personal advertising.
“I think most Tasmanians would agree that this kind of spend doesn’t pass any pub test and is not in tune with the issues facing the community.’’
A Government spokesperson defended the spending saying social media was an important tool for the Premier to communicate with Tasmanians about what’s happening in their local patch.
“It’s also allows the Premier to let people know about opportunities that stem from Government policy, including cost of living supports,’’ he said.
`”Ads are non-political and include promoting scholarships for health workers, travel grants for the West Coast, and support available for Tasmanian families who need to travel for sporting championships.‘’
More recent popular posts of Mr Rockliff with his dog Jack in the fields at his Sassafras farm were, according to a Government spokesperson, not boosted by advertising dollars.