Monique Ryan’s husband Peter Jordan filmed removing Amelia Hamer poster in Kooyong electorate

The husband of Teal MP Monique Ryan says tearing down a Liberal rival’s poster was “a mistake” despite originally being filmed threatening to do it again.

The husband of Teal MP Monique Ryan has apologised after he was caught pulling down a Liberal competitor’s poster.

A video shows Peter Jordan carrying a large Amelia Hamer poster down the street near Burke Rd, Hawthorn, in the Kooyong electorate over the weekend.

When asked why he was taking the sign, he claims the poster is an “illegally put up sign” and “anyone can take it down”.

“If it goes back up it will be taken down again,” he says in the video.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said people had pinched his posters in every election campaign he’d been involved in.

“Should it happen? No, it shouldn’t. We should have respect,” Mr Albanese told 3AW.

“We’re a great democracy and people have a right to stand and have a right to put forward their cases.

“Frankly, the taking down of posters or the taking of leaflets out of letter boxes, any of that stuff is always quite counterproductive.”

And on Monday morning, Mr Jordan changed his tune about his actions, saying it was a “mistake” to tear the sign down.

“I unreservedly apologise for removing the sign — it was a mistake,” he said.

“I believed the sign was illegally placed but I should have reported my concerns to council.”

Dr Ryan also apologised for the removal of the sign saying “it should not have happened”.

Peter Jordan, Monique Ryan’s husband, has been filmed pulling down a rival candidate's poster. Picture: Supplied

Peter Jordan makes off with a large Amelia Hamer poster in Kooyong. Picture: Supplied

Mr Jordan, who was wearing a Teal T-shirt in the footage, refuses to reveal his identity when questioned in the video.

Asked if he is a “Monique Ryan supporter ripping down people’s signs” he says “no” and that he is “not acting on behalf of anyone”.

The person filming the video is seen trying to grab the sign back from Mr Jordan saying “you can take it off the property but it belongs to me”.

A Liberal Party spokesman said in incident exposed the hypocrisy of the Teals.

“The Teals preach integrity in public but then behave like this when they think no-one is looking,” he said.

“Regretfully this is not the first time we’ve seen this sort of behaviour.

“It’s disappointing that we now need to consider how to best keep our property and volunteers safe when Monique and her husband are around.”

Victorian Liberal Senator James Paterson demanded Dr Ryan front up and explain what happened rather than hide behind a statement, saying Mr Jordan’s behaviour was “totally inappropriate” and “inexcusable”.

Liberal candidate for Kooyong Amelia Hamer is challenging Monique Ryan. Picture: Alex Coppel

Monique Ryan won the federal seat of Kooyong in 2022. Picture: Martin Ollman

Senator Paterson also raised concerns that this was “not the first instance of bad behaviour” from Dr Ryan’s campaign, following an ugly quarrel with teenage Liberal volunteers.

“She’s never accounted publicly for that behaviour or this sign theft, and this isn’t the first sign that’s gone missing,” he told Sky News on Monday.

“Dozens of Liberal Party signs in Kooyong have been defaced or vandalised, and have been stolen.

“Is this the first and only time her husband has taken upon himself to enforce council bylaws and remove a sign, or has he done it on other occasions?”

Another shocking video of an Amelia Hamer poster being slashed in Toorak earlier this month has also emerged.

The footage, taken overnight on March 7, shows two people walking along the residential street before stopping at the poster, cable tied to a metal fence overnight.

The man then flips open a knife, before handing it to his companion saying “would you like to do the honours? I feel like I have been doing them all”.

The other takes it before asking: “What is the most economic way to make this a pain in the arse to take down, and also like to humiliate both them (points at house) and the politician?”.

The man gestures cutting the poster into four quarters, which the other does, before the pair take off in the same direction they came because a car comes down the street.

The Herald Sun understands the incident has not been reported to police.

Senator Paterson said the Liberals wanted a “clean contest”, adding no campaign in Kooyong will suffer from a lack of visibility.

“Let the candidates make their arguments, try and persuade the people, let them decide,” he said.

Fellow crossbencher and Independent MP Dai Le said the opponents’ posters should not be touched and independents needed to differentiate themselves from “playing that kind of small game”.

“It doesn’t look good,” Ms Le said.

“It’s not your role to take it down. It’s up to council.

“You’ve got to walk the talk and you’ve got to make sure that your team around you have to behave in a way that is of ... high standards and not to fall prey to the political ... tactics that a lot of the major parties take part in.”