SA anti-abortion lobbyist in top three national social media spenders
Sarah Game’s controversial abortion bill lost in the upper house last night – as details emerged that the anti-abortion lobbyist who helped write its detail was the country’s third biggest spender in Meta advertising.
In the past 30 days, anti-abortion lobbyist Joanna Howe – who helped write Sarah Game’s abortion bill – was the third biggest spender in the country on Meta advertising.
Howe spent $95,976 across 40 posts in the time period October 11 – November 9, according to Meta’s advertiser library which covers platforms Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp.
In this time, she outspent global mining giant BHP and was only outspent by UNICEF Australia and Greenpeace’s Australia Pacific arm.
Howe did not respond to questions sent by InDaily.
Game said that although she believed mainstream reporting had been “fair” on the abortion bill issue, “not everybody follows the mainstream media” and “there needs to be different ways to get the message out”.
She told InDaily she was not involved with the advertising spend and her party Fair Go for Australians made no contribution.
“Myself and the party [were] not involved through contribution, discussion or planning,” Game said.
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Meta advertising’s public platform showed Howe had 110 active advertisements on Meta in the time period from September 5 to November 12, after Game announced she would introduce the Termination of Pregnancy (Restriction on Terminations after 22 Weeks and Six Days) Amendment Bill 2025 in the South Australian parliament.
Of these 110 posts, not all concerned Game’s bill. Most concerned abortion in South Australia, Victoria and national parliaments, including Howe reacting to news articles on the topic, but other videos advertised concerns over other topics, including the death of right-wing US activist Charlie Kirk.
Independent MLC Tammy Franks and Liberal MLC Michelle Lensink have separately called for Howe’s advertised content to be investigated by the state’s electoral advertising authorities.
An Electoral Commission of South Australia (ECSA) spokesperson told InDaily it was “aware a complaint may be raised, however no formalities have been made as yet, therefore no investigation has commenced”.
ECSA said under the Electoral Act 1985, a third party is an entity that intends to incur more than $10,000 in political expenditure.
“Third Parties are required to be registered with the Electoral Commission. To date, ECSA has not received an application for registration concerning Ms Howe,” the spokesperson told InDaily.
Franks raised Howe’s spending in parliament and said she was particularly concerned about misinformation in the videos advertised by Howe.
“Truth in political advertising does actually hold up during an election period in this state, but third parties who spend more than $10,000 who are political players who seek to affect election results are required to be transparent,” Franks said during parliament’s abortion debate on Wednesday night.
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“I certainly think that the Electoral Commission of South Australia should be taking a look at some of the evidence I’ve reflected upon tonight.
“I know that they’ve hired investigators. I hope those investigators are going to be cognisant of this debate.”
Lensink said she has become aware of Howe’s social media spending and was seeking advice about whether Howe’s advertised content gave rise to any issues under the Electoral Act.
“The method and tone of Dr Joanna Howe’s social media discourse has shocked many South Australians,” Lensink told InDaily.
“I am seeking advice regarding various acts, including the SA Electoral Act.
“At the very least, if any of that funding is being sourced from outside Australia, the parliament should consider banning that.”
It comes as the state government announced an independent review of lobbyist laws on Thursday morning.
Deputy Premier Kyam Maher said the review was not designed with specific groups or individuals in mind, but that the abortion campaign outside of parliament was “regrettable”.
“I think there are people have been involved in this debate outside parliament who, if they step back and have a look, probably would not feel good about how they’ve conducted themselves, and might consider how they conduct themselves in the future,” Maher said.
“Other members of parliament have raised concerns about some of the activities that have occurred, and if there are things that need investigating, I’m sure those appropriate authorities will be investigated.
“But our lobbyist regime will have a look across the board at what we do in other jurisdictions and make sure we’re fit for purpose.”
This came after Howe ran what she called a “fun game” on her website, allowing followers to buy words that could come up in the parliamentary debate on Wednesday evening.
In July, the state government introduced new restrictions on political donations, which included a $450,000 cap on advertising expenditure for third parties wanting to influence the outcome of an election.
