Daniel Andrews and Labor accused of ‘underhanded practices used to deceive Victorians’ in survey

Labor is being looked at over an advertising ploy offering $5 gift cards to fill out a survey spruiking Daniel Andrews.

Victoria’s election watchdog is making inquiries into an alleged trick advertising ploy by Labor amid concerns it has targeted swinging voters ahead of November’s poll.

The Herald Sun can reveal the Victorian Electoral Commission is investigating after voters were targeted to take part in an online survey spruiking Premier Daniel Andrews while lambasting Opposition Leader Matthew Guy.

Potentially thousands of voters have been sent letters across key electorates, including Mornington and Caulfield, inviting them to take part in a “study of Victorian voters” with the lure of a $5 gift card if they complete an online survey.

As part of the survey, participants are forced to watch a 40-second clip promoting the work of the government.

“Dan Andrews and Labor are doing what matters,” the video says.

“They’ve removed level crossings, built schools and hospitals, and made TAFE and kinder free.

The short clip promotes the work of the state government.

“But there’s more to do, solar panels and batteries to get power bills down, infrastructure to drive our economy, and bringing the budget to surplus without cutting what matters.”

The clip then calls Guy “the Liberals’ cuts guy”.

“His plans for cuts were rejected in a landslide at the last election,” it claims.

“He cut billions from our health system and our kids’ schools, waged war on our ambos, and closed 22 TAFE campuses and said he wants to cut the state’s infrastructure projects.”

The survey and video carries no authorisation.

Labor sources said the survey was sent to test messages and themes and denied it included political advertising.

A letter to sent to voters asking them to participate in the survey.

They said the survey made it clear that its purpose was to test messages and issues that were of interest to voters, not to persuade them.

The matter is being reviewed by the VEC’s Electoral Integrity and Regulation team after a formal complaint was lodged by Charelle Ainslie, an independent candidate in Nepean.

Ms Ainslie, who has raised concerns about the potential misuse of electoral roll data, privacy breaches and electoral authorisation offences, slammed the survey as a thinly disguised marketing ploy.

“Confidence in Victorian politics is at an all-time low and this is just another example of the underhanded practices used to deceive Victorians,” Ms Ainslie said.

The survey is being reviewed by the VEC’s Electoral Integrity and Regulation team.

A question included in the survey.

The survey and video carries no authorisation.

The people who completed the survey are offered a $5 reward.

“If the Andrews government is so successful, why does public opinion need to be manipulated in this way?

“We deserve better. This is why I am standing as an independent, to bring honesty and transparency back.”

Ms Ainslie said serious questions should be answered, including who commissioned the survey, who paid for it, how data was stored and where voters’ personal details came from.

A veteran state political campaigner, who asked not to be named, said Labor was pushing the boundaries with the controversial practice.

“The offer of $5 is a clever incentive to get voters to watch the advertising and push a message onto them under the disguise of political polling,” the person said.

“It’s harder and harder for campaigns to get voters to absorb a political message and this is a very innovative trick by Labor.”

A VEC spokeswoman refused to comment on the specific investigation.

“In general, and as expected, the VEC is seeing an increase in complaints as the election approaches,” she said. “Any complaint received is assessed for any allegations of offences against the Electoral Act.”

Any potential offences are referred to the commissions Electoral Compliance Team for investigation.

“We investigate all matters regardless of which group or person is involved,” the spokeswoman said.

A Victorian Labor spokesperson said the VEC had not raised any issues in relation to election surveys.

A political campaigner says the survey is an ‘innovative trick’. Picture: David Crosling

Labor sources said advanced data collection methods used by the Labor movement gave it an advantage over the Liberal Party in identifying and targeting swinging voters.

While the government had a big win in 2018, the loss of 10 seats would wipe out almost all of its majority.

It currently holds 55 of 88 lower house seats, with 45 needed to form a majority government.

Further analysis reveals only 54,000 voters would be required to shift their vote away from Labor to put up to 19 seats in jeopardy.

It is not the first time Labor election tactics have been called into question.

In 2014 it infamously rorted almost $388,000 in taxpayers’ money to spend on part-paying electorate staff to campaign for the 2014 election.

In January basketballer Andrew Bogut was threatened with prosecution for posting social media content critical of both the Andrews government’s pandemic law and the crossbenchers who backed it.

The former NBA and Boomers player, who isn’t affiliated with any political party, was warned he faced hefty fines for posting critical comments that related to “electoral matters” without “an authorisation as required by law”.

The warning to him from the VEC came in response to a social media post opposing the government’s pandemic legislation which featured the words “vote them out”, and ­directed people to a website by the same name.

A video featuring images of crossbench MPs Fiona Patten, Samantha Ratnam and Andy Meddick — who were voting in favour of the amended laws — urged people to vote them out of office if the laws were passed.