Tasmania’s Family First Senate Candidate Peter Madden has called on Greens Senator Peter Whish Wilson to declare the source of funding for his extensive advertising campaign currently on buses and in online newspapers promoting the Greens 20 year plan.
Mr Madden said of the ads:
“Though the ads are not specifically election campaign ads they are obviously designed to raise the Green Senator’s profile in the election campaign period, as they utilise the same photograph of Whish Wilson as the Greens’ election ads” He said.
“This raises the question of the possibility of tax payer dollars being used subversively and possibly illegally, to fund a Greens’ election campaign pretending not to be an election ad campaign” Mr Madden said.
“I’m challenging the Greens to show public accountability and transparency as to whether this campaign is being funded by tax payers money through a Senate fund or if it is a scheme to avoid having to declare donations from wealthy foreign donors”.
“Neither Liberal nor Labor Senators have used potentially tax payer funded ads or non declared donor ads in this campaign like the Greens seem to be doing” He said.
“If this is indeed an abuse of taxpayer money or a violation of the Electoral Act the Greens need to be called to account. It clearly puts other minor parties at an unfair disadvantage and the Tasmanian people have a right to know this before the election”.
Tasmanian Family First Senate candidate Peter Madden
