THE Newman Government will hire external spin doctors to sell its controversial bikie blitz to the public. It has asked public relations firms to bid for work on a three-month campaign amid concerns the Government is losing support over its crackdown on outlaw motorcycle gangs. The campaign, which industry sources estimate will cost $500,000, is a bid to boost support of the laws and confidence in the Government to effectively manage the (bikie) threat. It will bring the cost to taxpayers of promoting the crackdown to more than a million dollars, after almost $800,000 was spent on advertising it last year. A tender sent out to firms this week - and obtained by The Courier-Mail - shows the government has identified issues in relation to community attitudes and views about the measures taken ... in response to criminal motorcycle gangs. It wants to correct current community misperceptions ... ease concerns of the law-abiding public (and) counteract future negative media coverage with positive messages about the laws. Ironically, Premier Campbell Newman was yesterday threatened with legal action by the boss of a PR firm over claims it was stoking a bikies spin campaign. Mr Newman last week accused a PR firm of provoking media coverage of stories such as the Yandina Five and bike riders disgruntled by police treatment. Margaret Lawson said she had written to Mr Newman to demand he cease and desist defamatory comments suggesting her firm Cole Lawson was, among other things, creating misleading or false stories concerning criminals. She said Cole Lawson had been paid $2816 so far by the United Motorcycle Council Queensland exclusively to handle media coverage of its High Court challenge. Negative stories about the laws were a result of grassroots opposition, she said. The reason for (the Government hiring a PR firm) has nothing to do with a sophisticated campaign of spin as Mr Newman has been claiming - it is because his Government has introduced bad laws and is now struggling to control the fallout, she said. Criminal lawyer Bill Potts said the Governments anti-bikie laws certainly do need a public relations firm because they are a public relations disaster. couriermail.au/news/queensland/premier-campbell-newman-turns-to-pr-professionals-to-sell-his-outlaw-bikie-blitz/story-fnihsrf2-1226809009906
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 20:46:23 +0000
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