Ministry of Health's 'Your View on Health' Campaign: Where Your Money Goes to Die

The Taxpayers' Union has obtained information through an Official Information Act request (OIA) that the Ministry of Health has spent a hefty $330,000 on a nationwide advertising campaign. This campaign, ironically titled 'Your Views on Health,' was launched in December 2022. Its intention? To engage the public and prioritise their involvement in the health system, all while highlighting how poorly the public thinks the Ministry is performing.
 
An astonishing $80,000 of the total sum was allocated for social media boosting. Even more shockingly, the Ministry chose to proudly promote a post that exposed the fact that a dismal 6% of surveyed individuals believed they had access to adequate health services. 
 
Oliver Bryan, Investigations Coordinator at the Taxpayers' Union, remarked, “They've not only frittered away taxpayers' money but further tarnished the Ministry's already negative image. They’ve paid through the nose to broadcast their own ineptitude. One has to wonder if they're vying for a comedy award. A post triumphantly crowing about how a pitiful 6% of the public think they've got their act together on healthcare. You couldn't make this stuff up. It's like a chef spending a fortune on ads to tell you his restaurant will probably give you food poisoning.”
 
Bryan further commented, “It's high time the Ministry centred its efforts on creating tangible solutions to the health system's evident deficiencies, rather than pouring money into such fruitless advertising endeavours.”