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Company behind Nine advertorial in growing political storm

Big names Ray Martin, Sonia Kruger & Bec Hewitt are in the travel advertorial for company now creating headlines.

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The company behind Nine advertorial series HelloWorld is at the centre of a developing political storm involving the finance minister Matthias Corman.

The company’s travel series, which began on Nine last October features Ray Martin, Sonia Kruger, Bec Hewitt, Steve Jacobs, Lauren Phillips, Matt Wilson, Ashley Hart, Denis Walter and Vince Sorrenti. It screens on Sunday afternoons, normally devoted to advertorial or sport content.

This week Cormann had to defend a family holiday booked through the company in January 2018, repaying $2780 for flights to Singapore after it was revealed he got the holiday for free. He said he was unaware he had not been charged for it and blamed it on an administrative error.

Helloworld was chosen for a $21 million government tender just weeks before Cormann’s trip was booked, but he maintains he had no involvement with the choice of the company or any influence over the process. The chief executive of Helloworld is federal Liberal Party treasurer Andrew Burnes.

Australia’s US ambassador Joe Hockey also asked staff to meet a representative of the company in 2017 before it lobbied for government work. He now owns shares in the company.

This Sunday’s edition includes Bec Hewitt in the Daintree Rainforest, Stevie Jacobs in the Cook Islands and Ray Martin exploring Tokyo.

Source: news.com.au, The Age

9 Responses

  1. According to stories re this on ABC Just In and in today’s Melbourne’s Herald-Sun, the issue relates to the Senator’s overseas trip which the Senator (as he told Senate Estimates) arranged directly with Helloworld’s CEO. The CEO is apparently also the Liberal Party’s federal treasurer.

    In neither publication, nor in any other media report about this issue that I’ve heard/read thus far (including Sky News), has the Helloworld TV program nor any of the program’s presenters been implicated in the political matter.

    I think that this is worth pointing out because this article on tvtonight.com.au – while true and correct – unfortunately does tend to conflate the TV program and its presenters somehow with the political goings-on, which I am sure was not the intent.

  2. I raised this advertorial issue ages ago with ACMA, they seemed particularly disinterested in the whole thing and dismissed the complaint, the self-regulating toothless tiger, the claytons regulator…..

  4. Perhaps Hello World could feature Joe Hockey and Matthias Corman. That way the tender process may appear more transparent. Perhaps ‘Hello World’ could be incorporated into the campaign slogan for this year’s election!

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