Kooyong MP Monique Ryan and Liberal volunteers allegedly embroiled in campaign spat
Kooyong MP Monique Ryan has allegedly been involved in an ugly quarrel with Liberal volunteers at a popular inner-Melbourne shopping strip, in which she was accused of shouting at “children”.
Victoria
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Teal MP Monique Ryan has been accused of shouting at “children” and threatening to get “nasty” during an ugly quarrel with Liberal volunteers, who she claims were “physically aggressive” towards her.
The spat is a sign that tensions are heating up in the battle for the affluent electorate of Kooyong, which Dr Ryan holds on a 2.5 per cent margin, with the starter’s gun yet to be fired on the federal election.
Several witnesses told the Herald Sun an altercation between Dr Ryan and some Liberal volunteers aged under 18, who were handing out flyers for candidate Amelia Hamer, occurred near a fruit shop at Hawksburn Village about 10.20am on Saturday.
They claim that Dr Ryan told the young volunteers they could not stand where they were, prompting them to say that they had as much right as she did.
The Kooyong MP then proceeded to shout that they were being “childish”, according to witnesses, which prompted a supervising Liberal volunteer to point out that they were children and should not be spoken to that way.
It is alleged that Dr Ryan then said “if you want this to get nasty, we can make it nasty” before leaving the shops.
One of the volunteers involved in the incident, who wished to remain anonymous, said the Teals did not “share the same respect that the other parties did”.
The volunteer said Dr Ryan’s shouting was “aggressive” and that she did not apologise after being told the volunteers were children.
Asked about the alleged incident and remarks, a spokeswoman said Dr Ryan was holding a pop-up office with several volunteers on Saturday when a group of people with Liberal Party paraphernalia “arrived late and were physically aggressive” towards her.
“Dr Ryan asked them to move away from her. When they refused to do so, she left,” the spokeswoman said.
The Herald Sun asked Dr Ryan’s office to elaborate on the claims of physical aggression.
Victorian Liberal Senator James Paterson said it was “incredibly disappointing” that Dr Ryan thought it was appropriate to treat young volunteers like this.
“Everyone participating in the political process deserves to be treated with respect – especially teenagers volunteering for the first time,” Senator Paterson said.
“The Teals claim to stand for honesty and integrity, but when no one is watching think they can get away with conduct like this.”
Originally published as Kooyong MP Monique Ryan and Liberal volunteers allegedly embroiled in campaign spat
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