SA Liberal MP Nicolle Flint reveals toll of personal attacks during 2019 Federal Election campaign
Boothby MP Nicolle Flint says she felt unsafe for much of this year’s election campaign after a “toxic” and personal attack.
SA Liberal backbencher Nicolle Flint has spoken of being terrorised by lobby group GetUp!, claiming members set out to destroy her during the federal election campaign.
Ms Flint has said in an interview in The Australian on Thursday that the attack was so “toxic” many people might now be afraid to enter politics.
She told how the abuse reached a point where she feared for her safety.
“This was a campaign to destroy me personally, a concerted attack to destroy me mentally,” Ms Flint said.
“We regard ourselves as an open and civil society. Instead, I ended up feeling unsafe for much of the campaign.”
Ms Flint’s office was egged, her posters defaced and she was forced to call in police after she was the victim of stalking.
The seat of Boothby, in Adelaide’s south, was identified by the activist group as one of the Liberal Party’s most vulnerable.
Ms Flint, alongside other conservative politicians including Peter Dutton, Tony Abbott and Kevin Andrews, became a target of the group.
Ms Flint reported the stalking incidents in May, resulting in two men, aged 40 and 64, being cautioned.
One of the men, Clarence Gardens resident David Walsh, denied any wrong-doing despite reportedly attending numerous events run by Ms Flint and taking photos of her.
He was spotted taking photos of Ms Flint through the window of a community event at Blackwood.
He also posted photos of Ms Flint on his personal social media account taken during Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s visit to Adelaide.