A NATIONALS campaign letter purportedly written by Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall, encouraging people to vote for Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce at the July 2 election, will be referred to the Australian Federal Police early next week by Tony Windsor.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
When the letter was brought to my attention I was absolutely furious.
- Adam Marshall
The letter bore Mr Marshall’s signature and photo. It was delivered to households in parts of the electorate about a week prior to the election.
“When the letter was brought to my attention I was absolutely furious,” Mr Marshall said just after the poll.
“I did not see, nor endorse, the letter which was sent out to people’s homes, purporting to be from me.”
“From the heated phone calls and personal exchanges since being alerted to the letter, I can assure people that those in Head Office will not be doing that again.”
When informed of Mr Windsor’s intention to take the matter further Mr Marshall said his views had not changed.
“I made my strong views about the letter very well-known at the time and they are the same today as they were then,” he said.
Mr Windsor said he had thought long and hard about the letter and its origins, and had waited to see if either Mr Marshall or Mr Joyce would report the matter.
“My understanding, and those of some legal people who have looked at it, is that a letter purporting to be from someone and using someone else’s signature during an election campaign is probably fraudulent,” Mr Windsor said.
“I think it’s something the Federal Police need to look at and is probably a breach of the Electoral Act as well.”
Mr Windsor said his main motivation for referring the matter was because of the precedent it could establish if allowed to pass unchallenged.
“I would have thought it was a standard we wouldn’t want to set,” he said.
I would have thought it was a standard we wouldn’t want to set.
- Tony Windsor
He said the incident added weight to the argument that political standards were slipping, and there was a fair bit of panic during that campaign.
“So the National Party, or the people who are in it, decided to throw caution to the wind,” he said.
“My understanding is the hierarchy of the National Party has admitted producing a letter in Adam’s name without his knowledge.”
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has made no comment on the matter.