The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has criticised a conservative political group for the second time in a week over its campaign against independent ACT Senate candidate David Pocock.
The Advance Australia group says the election watchdog has confused its answering-machine message for a "robocall", and dismissed Mr Pocock's complaint as him having "a sook".
The dispute centres on a recorded message from the lobby group, which says Mr Pocock plans to give the Greens more power if he is elected.
Mr Pocock, a former rugby union star, who is running as a climate-focused independent, said the recording was a "grubby" attempt to mislead voters.
The AEC described the recording as a robocall, saying it breached electoral standards because, despite mentioning "Advance", it lacked a full authorisation.
"The authorisation for a robocall needs the natural person, the name of the entity and the relevant town or city," an AEC spokesperson said.
"This robocall does not meet the authorisation requirements.
Mr Pocock said his volunteers had asked the AEC to investigate whether "the calls" complied with electoral law.
"These are grubby and desperate tactics that are again seeking to scare and mislead voters rather than inspire them with big ideas that will benefit our community," he said.
Advance Australia says Pocock and AEC wrong on 'robocall' claim
There are differing accounts of how the recording reached the Canberra voter who passed it on to Mr Pocock.
Mr Pocock said the voter found it on their voicemail.
But a spokesman for Advance Australia said the recording was a response to calls to its campaign lines.
"No politician or third party in the country authorises their answering-machine messages," the spokesman said.
The spokesman said all of the lobby group's electoral material was clearly authorised and complied with AEC guidelines.
"To be clear, the voice message was only heard by people who had opted into direct communication as supporters and were calling us back," he said.
Lobbyists' second run-in with AEC this week
The AEC rebuked Advance Australia earlier this week over a separate matter: signs that depicted both Mr Pocock and independent MP Zali Steggall as Greens party members.
The electoral body said the placards — which were altered to show the pair wearing T-shirts with a Greens logo — breached the Electoral Act because they could deceive voters in a way that affected how they cast their vote.
Mr Pocock said he was disappointed the decision was not made sooner, as about 52,000 Canberrans had already voted before the signs were removed.
He has written to the AEC asking that Advance be prosecuted.
Mr Pocock's big-spending campaign, backed by progressive lobby group Climate 200, has gained significant support in Canberra.
He is competing for a Senate seat along with both of the ACT's incumbent senators: Labor's Katy Gallagher and the Liberals' Zed Seselja.
The disputed phone message
Advance Australia's phone recording, which the AEC said breached electoral standards, included the following speech:
"Hi, it's Shelly from Advance. Someone from our team was trying to get in touch with you to make sure you were aware of how solid Zed Seselja has been on Australian values in the Senate and what extreme-green independent David Pocock really stands for before you cast your vote.
"There's no doubt that, if successful, David Pocock will throw his support behind the Greens in the Senate to help give them even more power to push their radical agenda, especially with his background as an extreme green activist.
"He was arrested and detained for chaining himself to a coal digger and said he won't have kids because it's bad for the environment. Sounds like an extreme green to me.
"I'm sorry we missed you this time but please remember when you head to the polls, anything other than a vote for Zed Seselja and the Liberals in the Senate is a vote for a weak Green government. It's a risk we just can't take in these dangerous times.
"I hope to catch you next time. Goodnight."
