The Taxpayers’ Union can reveal that Callaghan Innovation has blown $170,000 on a rebranding exercise at a time when taxpayer-funded agencies were being told to curb spending. Information obtained under the Official Information Act reveals that Callaghan Innovation - the body largely responsible for providing corporate welfare by picking winners - has spent $173,000 on website and logo changes.

The revelations come on the same day that staff are finding out about a wave of job cuts across the organisation.

Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said:

“Waste is embedded into Callaghan Innovation’s DNA with corporate welfare being a core tenet of their mission. It’s sadly no surprise to see them spending money like there’s no tomorrow.

“The rebrand includes a staggering $15,440 on t-shirts and more than $15,000 on just the logo. Taxpayers will continue to be stung with an ongoing annual $67,000 in website licensing fees.

“Chief Executive Stefan Korn must front up to taxpayers and explain why he’s wasting money on such an expensive rebrand at a time when agencies are being told to find savings. To make matters worse, the redesign is completely at odds with the Government’s public service guidelines that tell agencies to return to standardised government branding, not expensive makeovers every few years.

“Callaghan Innovation has always been one of the most wasteful taxpayer-funded organisations, sucking money away from productive sectors of the economy and having a punt on businesses that are otherwise unwilling or unable to attract private investment. The Government should cease all taxpayer funding for Callaghan Innovation and require it to fund itself by making commercial returns on its investment – if it can’t do that, it should be shut down.”

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