Fines of up to $15,500 facing trolls behind ’offensive’ posts against Tracey Hayes: NTEC

Social media trolls who levelled “vitriolic” abuse at CLP Fannie Bay candidate Tracey Hayes could be liable for fines as high as $15,500 if found guilty of breaching the NT’s electoral act, the NT Electoral Commission (NTEC) has warned.

SOCIAL media trolls who levelled “vitriolic” abuse at CLP Fannie Bay candidate Tracey Hayes could be liable for fines as high as $15,500 if found guilty of breaching the NT’s electoral act, the NT Electoral Commission (NTEC) has warned.

The NTEC confirmed it had met with Ms Hayes on Wednesday about social media posts directed at her that were “personal and offensive” and were looking into the matter.

Ms Hayes revealed the impact of the “disgusting and vitriolic” post on her and her family, which she believes has been undertaken by fake Facebook accounts, were felt on the first day of early voting.

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“That evening my family and I sat down and we had a family meeting and discussed the potential impact that this was having on their wellbeing and what it actually meant for the family,” she said.

“It hardened our resolve … this is why I chose to go into political in the first place, I think we can do politics better in the NT.”

Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro and her team launch their Agriculture Policy for the 2020 election at the Berrimah Export Yards. She is joined by the Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and candidate for Fannie Bay Tracey Hayes. Picture: Che Chorley

It comes as Ms Hayes copped criticism from the unions about a political ad the CLP ran comparing her work history against Chief Minister Michael Gunner’s pre-politics job history, of which one of the two entries was his time working at Big W.

Ms Hayes rejected criticism she had mocked retail workers and said the ad was about highlighting the “deficit of experience and work experience prior to entering politics”.

Mr Gunner, who said he wasn’t offended, argued the “best qualification to be Chief Minister is being Chief Minister and delivering for Territorians”.

An NTEC spokesman said the commission had an arrangement with social media companies to bring inappropriate content to the attention of a senior officer but ultimately it was up to those sites to remove the posts or shut the offending accounts down.

Under Section 270 of the Northern Territory’s Electoral Act, campaign material needs to be authorised, which means the author must be disclosed.

“As these posts appear to be posted using an alias they are potentially a breach of this provision. The maximum penalty for breaching this provision is 100 penalty units,” the NTEC spokesman said.