Dr Karl Kruszelnicki in the Intergenerational Report advertisement. Credit:challengeofchange.gov.au The Intergenerational Report "challenge for change" campaign, launched in March, is due to finish at the end of this week. Fairfax Media revealed this week that the Intergenerational Report campaign, which was launched five weeks after new rules for government advertising came into effect, did not face examination first by an independent, three-person committee. Treasury said that the advertising "was initiated" under the old rules, which only required approval from the appropriate departmental secretary. Fairfax Media understands that research commissioned by Treasury has found that the campaign has doubled awareness of the Intergenerational Report, a snapshot of the economy in 40 years.

Illustration: David Rowe Dr Kruszelnicki - widely known as Dr Karl - embarrassed the government by describing the report as "flawed", admitting to fears it was not apolitical and saying he felt "deep regret" that he had participated in the campaign without reading the full document. While he praised some aspects of the report - such as its focus on science and innovation - Dr Kruszelnicki has criticised the lack of attention given to climate change. After a backlash from fans, Dr Kruszelnicki said he would donate any income he receives for fronting the campaign to government schools. A spokeswoman for Treasurer Joe Hockey said the information campaign was created to raise awareness about the economic challenges and opportunities facing Australia.

The tender document is the maximum spent on the campaign and its final cost will be revealed later, the spokeswoman said. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said the campaign had been an "absurd waste of money". "Joe Hockey paid Dr Karl Kruszelnicki to front this campaign – now Dr Karl says he is so concerned about how flawed this report is he wants nothing to do with it," Mr Shorten said. "He feels so strongly about it that he's promised to give away his entire fee." The previous Labor government spent almost $10 million on its response to the Henry Tax Review, which recommended a mining super profits tax.

Dr Kruszelnicki said he has copped a backlash from fans for fronting the ads, with some calling him a "Liberal Party stooge". He said earlier month: "I deeply regret that I didn't get to see the full and final version." Before agreeing to donate his fee for the campaign, he said: "What have I done wrong? Loading "As far as I'm concerned I was hired to bring the public's attention to the report. People have heard about this one where they hadn't heard about IGR one, two or three."