The Labor Party says it has gone to federal court to seek precautionary measures over what it has described as misleading signs in Higgins’ key seat.
Key points:
- The Labor Party is trying to get the green signals from Higgins and other voters that it says are misleading.
- The Liberal Party has filed its own complaint alleging invalid election material in Kooyong
- The AEC says it is aware of both allegations and is investigating
In a letter to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), Labor says members of its campaign team witnessed people believing they were part of the Liberal campaign team installing green signs saying “Put the work in the back “in Higgins’ polling booths.
The ALP said the posters had also been placed on McEwen and Hawke voters, both on the outskirts of Melbourne.
In a Twitter post, the Greens called the signals “desperate tricks.”
The signs indicate that they are authorized by a Hendrick Fourey of the Business Owners and Contractors Union.
The union’s website says the group was formed in 2019 and “brings together and represents owners and contractors of small and medium-sized businesses.”
Labor said it was seeking a court order from the Federal Court to remove the signs.
Higgins MP Katie Allen denied any knowledge of the signs, while the Victorian Liberal Party said it did not authorize election materials.
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The AEC confirmed with the ABC that it had received a complaint about the signs and was reviewing the matter.
The commission said it did not have the legal means to immediately remove the material without any court order.
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to search, up and down arrows for volume. Albanese begins election day at Higgins headquarters.
Higgins’ electorate was in the hands of Liberal Katie Allen with a 2.6 percent margin after the 2019 poll.
The seat in south-east Melbourne has been occupied by the Liberal Party since its inception in 1949 and has been occupied by two former prime ministers: John Gorton and Harold Holt.
Traditionally a secure Liberal seat, Higgins, like many Melbourne city center voters, has seen an increase in support for the Greens in recent years.
Dr. Allen is being challenged by Labor candidate Michelle Ananda-Rajah, a doctor, and Greens candidate Sonya Semmens, who works in the nonprofit sector.
Election news:
The Liberal Party has filed a complaint against the signs in Chinese
The Liberal Party has filed its own complaint with the AEC over signage at Kooyong headquarters in Melbourne.
The complaint states that the ballot papers and corflutes for independent candidate Monique Ryan are written in Chinese, but are only authorized in English.
If the election material is written in another language, the requirements of the ACS dictate that the authorization must be notified in both English and the language used.
The ACS told the ABC that it was aware of the authorizations and understood that the rectification was being made to have the full and appropriate product authorization statement.
A spokesman for Dr. Ryan denied the allegations and said the authorization requirements for all election material had been met.
“All Chinese election campaign material used by Dr. Ryan’s campaign, including How to Vote cards, is duly authorized in the correct languages,” the spokesman said.
“Just to repeat, the Liberal Party’s claim is a false accusation.”
Corflutes in Chinese at Kooyong headquarters are authorized by Monique Ryan in English only. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)
Kooyong’s headquarters will be hotly contested, with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg facing a challenge from Dr. Ryan.
Dr. Ryan is one of 23 “green-green” independents running under the banner of the Climate 200 group, funded by billionaire activist Simon Holmes à Court.
The election campaign has been marked by breaches of the electoral act of the Commonwealth.
Signs authorized by the Conservative pressure group Advance Australia falsely represented independent candidates David Pocock and Zali Steggall as members of the Greens.
In 2019, a senior Victoria Liberal Party figure admitted to the court that the Chinese-language signs used in two Melbourne seats were designed to convey the look of official AEC material.
Electoral basics:
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Posted 51 minutes ago 51 minutes ago, Saturday, May 21, 2022 at 2:20 AM, updated 23 minutes ago, 23 minutes ago, Saturday, May 21, 2022 at 2:48 AM