SA Election 2018: Libs apologise if voters misled on power prices after criticism from Electoral Commission

LIBERAL Leader Steven Marshall has been forced to apologise to any voters who were “misled” by his party’s claims about power bill savings - but will continue spruiking the policy.

• Liberals vow to save households $302 a year on power bills
• Liberals concede it won’t be $300 a year
• Daniel Wills: Power politics and the hip pocket
• Labor anger over Liberals’ GST robocalls

LIBERAL Leader Steven Marshall has been forced to apologise to any voters who were “misled” by his party’s claims about power bill savings - but will continue spruiking the policy.

The Electoral Commission on Wednesday found a Liberal claim that its energy policy, released late last year, would save customers $302 was “inaccurate and misleading”.

Commissioner Mick Sherry found that “a significant part of the savings referred to (around $230) will eventuate whether the plan is implemented or not”.

He directed Mr Marshall to retract the claim.

Mr Marshall initially rejected the Commission’s criticism and said he would continue to promote his electricity policy.

However, overnight the Liberal Party released a statement which apologised “if any person has been misled” by the information it published about the energy policy.

“While we continue to respectfully disagree with the complain to the Electoral Commissioner, we nevertheless make this statement and restate our policy position to ensure no one has been misled by the publication of our solution and the advertising of it,” the statement, posted online, reads.

Mr Marshall said he was “proud of what we’ve put out” and argue the Liberals were the only party to have their energy policy independently evaluated.

At the time of the announcement in October, Mr Marshall was swiftly forced to concede households would only be up to $70 better off, and the rest of the cash would be saved by policies already in train.

Premier Jay Weatherill accused Mr Marshall of breaking the law over his initial refusal to retract the claims.

Mr Weatherill said the finding showed Mr Marshall had got “the fundamental underpinnings of his most important policy” wrong.

“Steven Marshall and every Liberal MP has continued to repeat this inaccurate claim across the state, at every front door, at every street corner meeting and in countless pieces of electoral material,” he said.

“If he doesn’t comply with that recommendation (from the Electoral Commissioner) it is unlawful and there are penalties.”

SA Best leader Nick Xenophon with Opposition leader Steven Marshall and Premier Jay Weatherill at one of the leaders’ debates. Both Labor and Liberal were found to have made misleading election claims. Picture: AAP / Emma Brasier

The election watchdog also criticised a Labor claim that the Liberal Party would cut $557 billion from SA’s GST share as “inaccurate and misleading”.

Mr Sherry said the Labor advertising flyer - distributed by federal Labor Senator Alex Gallacher - implied the SA Liberals, and in particular Mr Marshall, had a “secret plan” to slash SA’s GST.

Mr Sherry said he was satisfied that claim was also “inaccurate and misleading to a material extent”.

Premier Jay Weatherill speaks to the media on Wednesday. Picture: AAP / David Mariuz

Liberal leader Steven Marshall in Port Jervis on Wednesday. Picture: AAP /Tracey Nearmy

In a statement released on Wednesday morning, Senator Gallacher retracted the GST claims against the Liberal Party.

“A flyer published and distributed in the Federal seats of Boothby, Hindmarsh, Makin and Grey, between 19 February 2018 and 23 February 2018 that was authorised by me, Alex Gallacher, implied that Steven Marshall and the State Liberal party had joined a “secret plan” to cut GST revenue to South Australia,” he said.

“That statement was inaccurate and misleading to a material extent, and I now retract it.”

Mr Weatherill said that he had no involvement in producing the flyer and would not have approved it.

“I don’t know why he did that. It was a mistake. It wouldn’t have been approved by us,” he said.

SA Best Leader Nick Xenophon has also been told that a car promoting his party features signage that is “larger than one square metre” and must be taken off the roads.

SA Best Leader Nick Xenophon in his car — its advertising has been found to be in breach of election laws. Picture: AAP / David Mariuz

Mr Xenophon said he did not believe that the campaign vehicle — a red 1967 Fiat 500 Bambino — was in breach of the law and would “fight this all the way to the High Court” after receiving legal advice the alleged breach could be challenged.

“The law is a bit of an ass when you consider we have had the Jay bus, huge billboards, multi-million advertising campaigns but you can’t put an SA Best message on a Fiat Bambino,” he said.