Politics
Bartlett denies Labor pamphlet ruse
Premier David Bartlett has denied any knowledge of election material that looks like material from the Electoral Commission.
The pamphlet has been dropped in letterboxes across central (and suburban) Hobart.
It’s labelled as ‘Important Election Information’ and has details on how to apply for a postal vote but inside it contains an ALP attack on Liberal Party policy.
The Premier David Bartlett says he wasn’t aware of the new pamphlet but denies running a negative campaign.
The controversy over the new brochure comes after Labor was accused of running a dirty tricks campaign for launching a website called ‘liberalsrealchange’ which uses the Liberals’ slogans to criticise the party.
And Online:
Bartlett denies ‘deceitful’ election pamphlet
Posted February 18, 2010 13:12:00
The Labor Party has been accused of stepping up its dirty tricks campaign in the Tasmanian election.
Tasmanian Premier David Bartlett has denied any knowledge of election material that looks like a letter from the Electoral Commission.
The pamphlet has been dropped in letter boxes across central Hobart.
It is labelled as important election information and has details on how to apply for a postal vote but inside it contains an ALP attack on Liberal Party policy.
Mr Bartlett says he was not aware of the new pamphlet but denies running a negative campaign.
“Well I haven’t seen it so I’m happy to have a look at it,” he said.
“We are always going to point out where we see flaws in opposition policy.”
Opposition Leader Will Hodgman says it is deceitful.
“The Labor Party is trying to deceive voters by putting propaganda into envelopes which gives the impression of being an official document,” he said.
The Electoral Commission does not send out voter information but says the Labor pamphlet has not breached electoral guidelines.
The controversy over the new brochure comes after Labor was accused of running a dirty tricks campaign for launching a website called Liberals Real Change, which uses the Liberals slogan to criticise the party.