The ‘creepy old man’ MP Nicolle Flint says stalked her during election campaign

Friends of the terminally ill man Liberal MP Nicolle Flint says stalked her during the 2019 election campaign have leapt to his defence.

The man that Liberal MP Nicolle Flint accused of stalking her during the 2019 election campaign and called “a creepy old man” was a terminally ill 65 year old battling cancer who friends say was never charged with any offence and is having his “name dragged through the mud.”

Friends of Adelaide man Dave Walsh told news.com.au said they were appalled his name was being besmirched when he had no ability to defend himself. He died of esophageal cancer on March 30, 2020.

“How dare she? This man has nothing to do with stalking. He was a journalist with WeekendNotes he was involved in a community group. He would take photographs that may or might not be used in the future,’’ Debbie Williams said.

“This woman has dragged this man’s name though the mud. The damage is already done.

“He died a horrendous death. It is grossly unfair. He had nothing to do with GetUp! Putting a man who is deceased, who cannot even defend himself, dragging his name, of something he was not even convicted of.

“It was ridiculous and it wasn’t warranted. She should be ashamed of herself.”

In response, Ms Flint said publishing the dead man’s friends’ claim she should be “ashamed of herself” was “victim shaming”.

“This is very close to victim shaming,” she said.

“To the best of my recollection the only time I have mentioned this individual’s name was in my evidence to JSCEM (under parliamentary privilege).

“You will note in my evidence to JSCEM I state that I confronted him and asked him to stop his behaviour and told him it was making me feel unsafe (this was in February 2019 after the behaviour had been going on for two months). He refused to do so. When the behaviour continued, I contacted the AFP, who visited him, and also asked him to stop his behaviour. He again refused.

“When the behaviour continued to escalate I went to the South Australian Police, who, within 24 hours, issued a stalking order against him. This is when the behaviour finally stopped.

“So not only was his behaviour terrifying, it seemed to be a deliberate ploy to stop my campaign. He didn’t treat any of the other female candidates the way I was treated.”

Police cautioned Dave Walsh, 65, after Ms Flint complained to police at the time and news crews were dispatched to his home to interview him, but he was never charged with any stalking offence before his death in April, 2020.

He told reporters he was a “law abiding citizen.”

“I am not, and never have been, a member of GetUp! or any associated group,” Mr Walsh told the Sunday Mail.

“I’m a law-abiding citizen just like you are. I have done nothing wrong.”

Ms Flint has accused the man of working “worked hand-in-glove” in activist campaigners in a deliberate attempt to scare her off campaigning and turning up at events to photograph her through windows.

“The assembled evidence shows that this individual and GetUp! worked hand-in-glove,” Ms Flint wrote in her submission to the parliamentary inquiry.

But David Walsh, who died of cancer in April 2020, went to his grave insisting he had never been charged with a stalking crime and was not a member of GetUp! or the Labor Party.

Dave Walsh can be seen taking photographs through a window during a function attended by Boothby MP Nicolle Flint in Blackwood. Picture: supplied

The evidence submitted to Parliament to the contrary is a number of Facebook posts Mr Walsh liked and his tendency to turn up at electorate events also attended by GetUp!

A photograph of Mr Walsh taken by Ms Flint’s supporters is included in a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters.

His behaviour frightened and “terrified” Ms Flint, who has previously revealed she abandoned a branded electorate vehicle plastered with her image to travel in, fearing for her safety because she lived alone.

Despite Mr Walsh’s denials that he was a member of GetUp! before his death, his Facebook account suggests however he did attend a Get Up! candidates debate event in the electorate which Ms Flint did not attend.

Member for Boothby Nicolle Flint has spoken this week about the man she says stalked her during the 2019 election campaign.

He had also been accused of taking photographs of former Mitcham mayor Glenn Spear who said the behaviour was not illegal but was “strange”.

“I’m a public figure and I would have chatted to him … but they were creepy, hidden photographs that he would post (online),’’ he said.

Ms Flint has previously spoken out over being stalked, abused online and had her electorate office vandalised with sexist graffiti calling her a ‘skank’ and a ‘prostitute’ and said Labor should have done more to stop the abuse.

‘Where were they when I was stalked by a creepy old man who worked hand-in glove with GetUp?,’’ she said.

A photographer, Mr Walsh ran an online blog called Weekend Notes on his travels in South Australia assisted by his “two clever canines” and said he enjoyed “travel, good food and wine”.

In a statement, Get Up! has denied any involvement with the man accused of stalking Ms Flint.

“The person in question has no connection to GetUp! and was not involved in the election campaign,” the spokeswoman said.

However, Ms Flint said she was not convinced with the denials, fighting back tears as she read out abuse she had been sent in recent days in Parliament on Thursday.

“You are a most rancid coward and infamous and endless liar, a consummate, shrivelled dirtbag, a ruling class s**t, an intellectual disgrace. Now go lick your smokies balls you Liberal crim,” one read.

“No wonder you’re being stalked by someone, you deserve it. You’re a piece of crap,” read another.

“Don’t insult my intelligence with denials or your false crocodile tears. I’m looking forward to seeing your demise,” a third read.