James O’Doherty: Politics done not so differently in the leafy teal lands of the north

Things are getting nasty in Sydney’s leafy north and well-heeled pockets of the north shore among Teal candidates supposedly campaigning for more integrity in politics

This election, some of the most bitterly fought political contests are perhaps where you would least expect.

Things are getting nasty in Sydney’s leafy north and well-heeled pockets of the north shore, in the battle between established Liberals and Teal candidates supposedly campaigning for more integrity in politics.

In Berowra, Teal candidate Tina Brown’s attempt to unseat incumbent Julian Leeser has even turned a former doyen of the Liberal Party against her old neighbour.

She has promised to “do politics differently” but a look inside Brown’s campaign WhatsApp group suggests some in Brown’s campaign haven’t got the memo.

Explosive internal chat group messages have revealed Brown’s campaigners made derogatory remarks about one of the Coalition’s most senior women and appeared to criticise a prominent Jewish MP – after he was targeted by anti-Semitic graffiti.

Tina Brown is an independent teal candidate for Berowra. Picture: Supplied

In one post, a male campaigner suggested that the photo had been digitally edited to add extra people, including Liberal Jane Hume.

“The way they Photoshopped Jane Hume at the front! She must have been on her knees in a begging position,” the campaigner said. In response, Hume says that the comments are an example of teal candidates being “far from being champions of integrity and transparency”.

Berowra Liberal MP Julian Leeser has had his posters targeted by unknown persons. Picture: Jonathan Ng

“The teals talk a lot about ‘doing politics differently’ but their actions suggest otherwise,” she says.

The comments – which some Liberals believe referenced a sexual act – come despite Brown declaring more needs to be done to attract “strong women” into politics, suggesting the Liberals “have none”.

Brown’s campaign was contacted for this column but she did not reply.

She did, however, take to Facebook to accuse the Liberal Party of “misrepresenting supporter comments from an unofficial WhatsApp group” as part of a “co-ordinated smear campaign”.

In another leaked chat excerpt, Heather Ruddock – wife of Liberal elder Philip Ruddock – appeared to criticise Leeser after anti-Semitic hate symbols were graffitied on his campaign posters.

When Leeser’s campaign posters were defaced with a Hitler moustache and devil horns, Ruddock posted in the group chat “may be (sic) our Federal MP should be advocating living in harmony and bringing us together”.

In another series of messages she suggested the campaign target voters based on their religion, suggesting “there are likely more Muslims than Jews in Berowra,” and noted that Leeser – a Jewish man – was benefiting from “significant donations from the Jewish community” from the “Eastern Suburbs”.

Phillip Ruddock and wife Heather at the Dedication of the Phillip Ruddock Heritage Centre in 2017. Picture: AAP Image

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies President David Ossip, while not criticising Ruddock, said Leeser is a “respected representative … (who) also happens to be a proud Jew”.

“There should be no place in our polity for attempts to divide Australians according to religion, race or any other immutable characteristic.”

As the wife of a Liberal Party veteran, Heather Ruddock has been a poster child for the Brown campaign.

Sources claim Mrs Ruddock has even changed her number plate to “Mrs 200,” a reference to the Climate 200 campaign group funding many of the teal campaigns.

She sensationally quit the Liberals and endorsed Brown this year, after Philip Ruddock was dumped as the party’s candidate for Hornsby mayor.

The former Liberal doyen said she changed allegiances because the Liberals were not targeting tertiary-educated women. Ms Ruddock did not return calls or texts on Thursday.

On Facebook, Brown’s campaign accused Liberals of trying to “tear down a woman of Heather Ruddock’s character and calibre”.

Take a drive south down the Pacific Highway and Bradfield’s self-styled “shadow member” Nicolette Boele’s campaign is also raising eyebrows.

The Teal candidate this week had to apologise for “disgraceful” anti-Semitic social media posts made by her campaign at the last election.

She also defended hiring workers to erect corflutes to power poles, which Ausgrid believes is “illegal”.

The Bradfield candidate was also forced to apologise over bizarre sexually-charged comments at a hairdresser that would have been curtains for any major party candidate.

Earlier this month, Boele apologised for telling a 19-year-old that her hair wash was “amazing, and I didn’t even need to have sex with you”.

That, she said, was just a “poor attempt at humour”.

“Everyone deserves to feel respected in their workplace and I’ll do better,” she conceded.

To be fair, the teals have copped their own share of the political shenanigans in Sydney’s upper crust.

Who can forget the posh women using a Chanel lipstick to scrawl the word “pig” over a poster for Warringah MP Zali Steggall?

That earned a 76-year-old woman a warning from police, alongside the valuable lesson to not waste the good lippy on petty vandalism.