Leaked recording: Teals join forces to discuss poll tactics for election

A leaked Zoom recording of a training session for Teal campaigners has revealed how closely the self-described independents work together. SEE THE VIDEO.

A leaked recording of a training session for Teal campaigners has revealed how closely the self-described independents work together, sharing polling and focus group research.

The meeting recorded this month showed Teal campaigners for seats at next month’s Victorian state election being taught how to use tactics learned from the campaign of Monique Ryan, who in May ousted Josh Frydenberg in Kooyong.

At one point a speaker addressing the meeting admits some tactics used by the Ryan campaign were “pretty genuine” but some were “sort of skirting around the edges”.

The evidence of co-ordination between apparently independent campaigns across Victoria is likely to add substance to Liberal claims that the movement should be treated as a political party by electoral authorities

Tactics taught to the campaigners included how to use a team of writers to bombard talkback and letters pages of newspapers, as well as how to use social media to attack opponents.

Tips from Monique Ryan’s campaign are being shared among Teal campaigners. Picture: Arsineh Houspian

The meeting was addressed by Teal campaigner Rob Baillieu, son of former Victorian premier Ted Baillieu, who revealed he had organised a team of “probably about 20 or 30 people” to write letters and call up talkback radio for the Ryan campaign.

“The purpose … was to amplify messaging around the campaign and our candidate, what they stood for”, with up to “two or three” letters being published in The Age every day.

A screenshot from the Teals’ combined electorate media training.

Mr Baillieu briefed the campaigns on the issues that research was showing were important in the state seat of Hawthorn, namely “health, integrity, climate and economy”, though he said “key policies” would be “different from electorate to electorate, based on polling and focus groups”.

He said when running against a candidate who was widely liked, it was “unrelentingly, unrelentingly positive in all your interactions”.

He said “this changes a little bit, however, when it comes to social media and … letters to the editor, because that’s not coming from a campaign, that’s coming from you as an individual”.

The meeting was also addressed by Ryan campaign veteran Aaron Smith, who talked about how to make tweets seem more authentic.

He said one of the “real tactical things in social media messaging” that worked “in campaigns like this, is to be local” for “authenticity and relatability”.

News Corp approached Mr Smith and Mr Baillieu but they did not respond.