QWC - stacked full of merchants of spin ...

Criticism yesterday of the bloated QWC and its spin merchant division - accounting for 25% of QWC staff and a lot of the blowout of annual costs to $18 million.

Excerpt from ABC News:

Water Commission budget spent on spin doctors: Seeney

25 June 2007

Queensland Opposition Leader Jeff Seeney has accused the Beattie Government of blowing the Water Commission's budget on spin doctors.

Mr Seeney says the Water Commission cost $18 million to run last year, which was nine times more than Premier Peter Beattie originally promised.

He says money is being wasted on public relations and spin doctors.

"Almost a quarter of the staff that the Water Commission employ are employed in that area of marketing and communications," he said.

"That would seem excessive to me."

Mr Beattie says staff levels have risen because the Water Commission is now an independent body with resources reallocated from other government departments.

See - QWC - hands up all those who aren't spin merchants.

If drinking recycled water is such a great idea, why does the QWC need so many merchants of spin ...