Ex-UAP MP Craig Kelly wins legal fight over election ads

Former controversial MP Craig Kelly has had a big win in court today, with the Australian Electoral Commission ordered to pay his costs.

Craig Kelly has won a legal stoush with the Australian Electoral Commission over the font size on his election advertising.

The AEC brought Federal Court proceedings against the former United Australia Party MP, alleging the “authorisation” line displayed on some his posters, sandwich boards and corflutes in the lead-up to the May 2022 poll were too small.

The lawsuit was dismissed on Thursday morning by the court, with Justice Steven Rares ordering the AEC to pay Kelly’s legal costs.

“I am of opinion that the applicants have not established that the display of any of the 8pt authorisation posters contravened ... the Electoral Act,” Justice Rares wrote in his judgment.

The authorisation line displays the name and address of the person who approved the posters. The AEC had argued the print was too small to be read by voters from a reasonable distance.

Mr Kelly argued his signs complied with political and print industry standards.

The firebrand ex-MP for the NSW seat of Hughes earlier said he was sent on a wild chase across his southern Sydney electorate in the lead-up to the election after being told by the AEC that he’d breached electoral laws with his eight-point font.

His lawyer Christopher Ward SC told the court that when Mr Kelly’s office was alerted by the AEC that some of the signs were still in circulation, it refused to tell him at which polling booth.

“There was an exchange of correspondence over some days between Mr Kelly’s solicitor and the AEC in which they first refused to identify where any of these allegedly offending signs were located,” Dr Ward told the court.

“So … he was left to race around the electorate with his staff and attempt to spot any that were still out there.”

Mr Kelly, who lost the seat of Hughes at last year’s election, has previously criticised the lawsuit, describing it as “malicious prosecution” and a “stitch up”.

On Monday he tweeted: “I wonder what this (is) costing the taxpayer?”

— With NCA Newswire