Liberals use Bananas in Pyjamas picture to accuse Rebekha Sharkie of left-wing alliance

LIBERAL minister Craig Laundy is seizing on a picture of Mayo candidate Rebekha Sharkie and her Labor and Greens opponents posing with the Bananas in Pyjamas to bolster accusations of a left-wing alliance.

Centre Alliance Mayo candidate Rebekha Sharkie (in green), with Labor candidate Reg Coutts (centre), Greens candidate Major "Moogy" Sumner (right), the “Bananas in Pyjamas” and a Get Up member, in a picture distributed by Get Up. Picture: Supplied.

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LIBERAL minister Craig Laundy is seizing on a picture of Mayo candidate Rebekha Sharkie and her Labor and Greens opponents posing with the Bananas in Pyjamas to bolster accusations of a left-wing alliance.

As the Liberals unleash an attack campaign in a bid to erode Ms Sharkie’s overwhelming opinion poll lead, Mr Laundy will appear in Victor Harbor today with Liberal candidate Georgina Downer as pre-poll stations open for the July 28 by-election.

Mr Laundy, the Small and Family Business Minister, said voters would be shocked to see Ms Sharkie “campaigning” with Labor, the Greens and a member of the “left-wing” Get Up! group.

The picture was distributed in a GetUp! email and taken after a candidates’ forum last Wednesday, in which people dressed as the well-known children’s TV characters attended in support of the ABC.

But Mr Laundy claimed it as evidence of an alliance and targeted the Centre Alliance’s Ms Sharkie, who an Advertiser-Galaxy poll last month showed was leading Ms Downer 58-42 per cent in two-party preferred support.

“It is a strange alliance we have in Mayo – a Sharkie, Labor, Greens Alliance – it raises questions as to what Ms Sharkie will owe the Greens and Labor on the back of this support,” Mr Laundy said.

Ms Sharkie said Liberal criticism of her for appearing in the photo after the candidates’ forum in Nairne was “pretty pathetic”.

Two people in the audience dressed as the ABC children’s characters had invited candidates to pose for a photo with them after the forum. “I probably had about another 50 photos with other constituents,’’ she said.

Ms Sharkie said she had been warned the Liberal Party would try to paint her as an “axe murderer” during the final weeks of the campaign.

Mayo voters can begin casting ballots from today, as some pre-poll stations open.