The Liberal National candidate running in the ultra-marginal Queensland seat of Lilley will “fully cooperate” after being referred to the Australian Federal Police amid allegations he provided a false residential address to the Australian Electoral Commission.
The AEC on Sunday also announced it has referred reports of hundreds of fake campaign signs erected in blue-ribbon Liberal electorates across NSW last week that falsely suggested independent candidates were members of the Greens to the Electoral Integrity Assurance Taskforce.
Labor MP Anika Wells on Friday called on the prime minister, Scott Morrison, to “disavow” Vivian Lobo after the Australian newspaper reported he had provided “false evidence” to the AEC when he claimed to live in the inner Brisbane electorate.
The article alleged that Lobo had told the AEC he was living in a home in Everton Park within the electorate, but that the property was actually uninhabited, unfurnished and in a state of disrepair, and he was living in the neighbouring electorate of Brisbane.
In a statement released on Sunday, the AEC confirmed it had referred the matter to the federal police for investigation after an initial look at the candidate’s forms revealed some “concern”.
“Following Mr Lobo’s candidate nomination for the 2022 federal election we have reviewed the declarations made on Mr Lobo’s enrolment and nomination forms,” the statement said.
“There is concern as to whether the information provided by him regarding his residential address on these forms is false.
“The AEC has referred this matter to the AFP for investigation.”
The AEC said the nominations for Lilley “must remain as they were formally declared” in late April.
“Ballot papers have been printed and distributed across the country for early voting to begin on Monday and many postal voters have already received their postal voting packs,” the AEC said.
In a statement, Lobo said he planned to live at the home in Lilley but was delayed in moving.
“I enrolled in the electorate as I had signed a lease in Everton Park with the intention to move in straight away,” he said.
“However due to my campaign commitments and difficulty with getting tradespeople to the home, I was delayed moving in.
“I will fully cooperate with any enquiries.”
The LNP’s state director has been contacted for comment.
Labor has held Lilley since 1998, with Wells taking over from former treasurer Wayne Swan at the last election.
She squeezed in at the 2019 election after an 8.12% swing against Labor’s primary vote and now holds the seat with a 0.6% margin.
The referral comes after the AEC on Friday announced it had separately referred Liberal candidate for the Victorian seat of Isaacs, Robbie Beaton, to the federal police.
Beaton admitted to listing a false address on his nomination form, saying he had previously worked at the hotel at the address that his family had owned for two decades.
He said it was an “honest mistake”.
The AEC also said it has referred reports of hundreds of fake campaign signs to the Electoral Integrity Assurance Taskforce.
The unauthorised candidate corflutes – in breach of commonwealth electoral laws – were put up in the early hours of Friday morning in electorates including Warringah, Mackellar, Hughes and Hume.
Electoral commissioner Tom Rogers warned it was a “serious matter” and urged anyone with information about the signs to come forward.
“We are exploring all avenues possible to get to the source of the signage,” Rogers said.
