The West Australian premier, Mark McGowan, has slammed the “idiots” and “morons” who parked a truck outside his home with a political ad linking Labor with the Chinese Communist party.
Large trucks with advertisements showing the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, voting for Labor have been seen in cities across Australia this week, depicting the CCP leader voting with a ballot reading “Labor 1” alongside the words “CCP SAYS VOTE Labor”.
McGowan said one of the trucks was parked outside his home while unidentified individuals filmed.
“They’re idiots. And they’re morons,” McGowan said on Wednesday. “And whoever is behind that should be ashamed of themselves. They go and park it outside my house and then film.”
The advertisements are authorised by conservative lobby group Advance Australia and align with the Coalition’s attempt to attack Labor over a perceived weakness on China ahead of the election.
The advertisements, also seen in Melbourne and Canberra, have caused renewed concern over regulation around political advertising.
The Australia Institute’s democracy and accountability senior researcher, Bill Browne, said it was natural for voters to ask questions.
Seen in Melbourne. Gonna be a fun campaign. pic.twitter.com/FnE1RDCKNn
— Norman Swan (@normanswan) April 5, 2022
“The reality is in Australia, it’s perfectly legal to lie in a political ad,” Browne said. “And it shouldn’t be.”
“We know that regulation along the lines of South Australia’s laws against misleading advertising would help address these problems generally.
“In South Australia, members of the public who think a political ad is misleading can make a complaint to the electoral commissioner who can can order the misleading ad to be withdrawn as well as give out financial penalties.”
Similar laws have been adopted by the ACT.
A spokesperson for the Australian Electoral Commission said the commission was not the “arbiter of truth” and did not have the authority to block the advertisement.
They did, however, remove the tick which had originally been placed in the box next to “Labor” and replace it with a “1” to ensure it did not mislead voters on the proper method of filling out a ballot.
“We just can’t police the truth behind things and we can only make sure that it doesn’t breach the Electoral Act,” the spokesperson said.
Asked whether the advertising was misinformation, Advance Australia said it was “no secret that China would prefer Labor win the election”.
“Advance is committed to campaigning for our country’s freedom, security, and prosperity – and believe this is an important issue for voters to consider,” a spokesperson said.
“We will continue to campaign on this and the other key message that Australia needs to be aware of before they go to the polls – if they vote Labor, they will get Green.”
Reforms to enforce truth in political advertising face some practical barriers and often raise concerns about constraints on freedom of speech.
But misinformation and falsehoods in recent elections have prompted calls for action.
Last election, the United Australia party used its vast advertising spend to spread an incorrect claim that Labor would introduce $1tn in new taxes.
Fringe Facebook groups claimed Labor was planning a “death tax”. At the 2016 election, Labor infamously ran a “Mediscare” campaign against the Turnbull government.
Some experts believe limiting campaign expenditure through spending caps is the best way to reduce the ability for misinformation to influence voters.
Marian Sawer, an emeritus professor and a political scientist with the Australian National University, said: “I continue to believe that one of the best ways to stop us all drowning in a sea of negative advertising during election campaigns is through caps on campaign expenditure.”
