Federal Election 2019: Undecided voters targeted by robocalls

A union-owned pollster working with Labor and GetUp has surveyed voters in marginal seats that pushes left wing issues prompting allegations the robo calls are designed to influence undecided voters.

A union-owned pollster working with Labor and GetUp has surveyed voters in marginal seats that pushes left wing issues prompting allegations the robo calls are designed to influence undecided voters.

The Daily Telegraph has obtained recording of two uComms polls conducted in the NSW seats of Reid and Warringah in recent weeks which asks questions that appear to favour Labor policies.

As part of the phone survey in western Sydney seat of Reid, which Labor believes it can claw back from the Liberals, voters are asked which issues are most important to them with options including “saving Medicare and stopping cuts to health” and “addressing housing affordability by reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax”.

While in Tony Abbott’s hotly contested northern beaches seat of Warringah voters were asked if a refugee “is ill in an Australian-run offshore detention camp do you agree or disagree that doctors should be able to transfer them to Australia for medical treatment” and whether this issue would influence their vote.

The Melbourne-based polling company is co-owned by the heads of the militant construction union Michael O’Connor and the Australian Council of Trade Unions Sally McManus.

The unpublished polling, which News Corp Australia understands was done for internal party research, also asks voters in Reid whether they hold a favourable view of retiring MP Craig Laundy suggesting there were question marks over just how much of the Liberal’s 4.7 per cent margin could be attributed to his popularity.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann urged voters not to be “fooled by another Labor-union scare campaign”.

The Liberal Member for Warringah Tony Abbott with local Jagvinder Singh Virk. Picture: Monique Harmer

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“A call from uComms is a call from the author of Mediscare. Labor and their campaigners at the ACTU and CFMEU should stop misleading voters with their false claims,” he said.

“The Government has increased health funding by over 60 per cent, guaranteed Medicare and fixed Labor’s border mess. Labor’s $387 billion in higher taxes will make it harder for Australians to save for their first home.”

uComms co-owner James Stewart, a former ReachTEL executive, rejected any suggestion that the company took part in push polling and stood by the veracity of the data.

While he would not say who bankrolled the two polls, Mr Stewart said both used a select sample of between 600 and 800 voters that was used to identify what issues were important to people in those seats.

“We do not conduct push polling for anyone. Full stop,” Mr Stewart said.

Originally published as Federal Election 2019: Undecided voters targeted by robocalls