Teal MP Monique Ryan orders volunteers to refer to her by formal doctor title

Monique Ryan is ordering volunteers to refer to her by her formal title, “doctor”, with leaked training material revealing how the Teal MP is trying to win over voters.

Teal MP Monique Ryan is ordering volunteers to refer to her by her formal title, “doctor”, when out campaigning for her re-election in the affluent inner-Melbourne seat of Kooyong.

Tensions in the battle for the prized electorate reached new heights in the past week, after Dr Ryan’s husband was caught pulling down the poster of her Liberal opponent Amelia Hamer outside a Camberwell property over the weekend.

Internal training material obtained by the Herald Sun drills into volunteers the need to reinforce that she’s a “doctor, independent, (and) highly effective” when asking voters if they had heard of her prior to the conversation.

In a training video, volunteers were told that “it’s really important to use the term Dr Monique Ryan, we want people to know that she is a doctor”.

Correct responses to scenarios in a “door knocking training quiz” also reiterate that she was “also a doctor before winning the 2022 election, so she’s not a career politician”, and to include that “she was head of Paediatric Neurology at the Royal Children’s Hospital”.

Dr Monique Ryan is asking volunteers to refer to her by her formal title. Picture: Martin Ollman

The campaign believes name ID will be “super important” among the 31,000 former Higgins voters now in the electorate following the redraw of electoral boundaries, with door knocking to help them overcome “any concerns or questions about Monique”.

In another quiz scenario, volunteers practice responding to a voter that says they could “never bring myself to vote for Peter Dutton”.

Internal training material obtained by the Herald Sun tell volunteers to reinforce Dr Ryan is a “doctor, independent, highly effective” when asking voters if they had heard of her before the conversation.

“That’s a really common answer in this neighbourhood,” one correct response states.

“Peter Dutton has said that his path to government runs through this seat, so it’s incredibly important to vote 1 Monique Ryan to prevent that from happening.”

Volunteers are provided a door knocking script in which they are told to raise Dr Ryan’s “achievements”, such as work on the cost of living crisis, housing and climate action.

They are also encouraged to offer voters a phone call with Dr Ryan to discuss any questions or concerns – except for those that are either extremely unlikely or likely to vote for her.

Dr Ryan’s husband Peter Jordan makes off with a large Amelia Hamer poster in Kooyong. Picture: Supplied

The main objective is “to listen, be friendly and be positive”, according to the documents, which also advise volunteers to leave “Sorry We Missed You Cards” under voters’ doors so they are “not visible to the public”.

Dr Ryan, who is in Canberra this week for parliament, has remained tight lipped over the latest campaign sign scandal.

She refused to elaborate on her brief eight-word apology on Tuesday, instead pulling a face and shrugging off reporters’ questions.

Dr Ryan was contacted for comment.

Originally published as Teal MP Monique Ryan orders volunteers to refer to her by formal doctor title