Liberal Party campaign spokesperson James Paterson says the result is a ‘humiliating defeat’
A Victorian Supreme Court judge has made a ruling on Boroondara City Council’s attempt to restrict the number of campaign signs in the marginal seat.
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The Liberal Party is celebrating a win in the Victorian Supreme Court after a judge rejected an order by the Boroondara City Council to restrict the number of campaign signs.
Council officials were snapped pulling down signs promoting Liberal candidate Amelia Hamer at Kew pre-poll on Wednesday after the party defied orders to restrict signage.
The council, headed up by former Teal candidate Sophie Torney, had claimed that each candidate or party was only allowed to have a single A-frame sign.
The Liberal Party, however, insisted that the demand was unlawful, engaging lawyers to fight the order in court.
On Thursday, Justice Kerri Judd granted an injunction blocking the council from enforcing its permit system for A-frame signs or removing signs from voting centres.
Liberal Party campaign spokesperson James Paterson called the result a “humiliating defeat”.
“It was never the place of a local council to seek to restrict free political communication in the federal election,” he wrote on X.
“The Council should apologise to ratepayers for the expense of this unnecessary action and stick to their core responsibilities instead of meddling in federal politics.”
A City of Boroondara spokesperson said while the ruling allows candidates to put up more signs, they will “still be subject to Council’s oversight and strict safety controls at the Kew pre-poll location”.
He noted that council was pleased that the judge had “upheld Councils’ right to take action to maintain the safety of our community”.
“We will be allocating the space where advertising may be placed on Friday 2 May,” he said.
The drama is just the latest in a series of fights over signs and billboards in the marginal seat, with a publican also told to take down a billboard calling out Teal MP Monique Ryan’s voting record with the Greens.
Originally published as Liberal Party campaign spokesperson James Paterson says the result is a ‘humiliating defeat’
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