Liberal Party wages new war on ‘political’ GetUp

The left-wing activist group could again face an investigation into party-political bias.

Getup campaigners at the Belair Primary School voting booth in May. Picture: AAP

Left-wing activist group GetUp could again be the subject of an investigation into party-political bias by the Australian Electoral Commission.

Liberal MPs have armed themselves with evidence of its activities during the 2019 election campaign, which, they say, were aimed “almost exclusively” at helping Labor candidates.

Liberal MPs have told The Australian they believe GetUp erred tactically by so specifically and aggressively targeting a half-dozen MPs purely on the basis of their support for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton in last year’s party leadership brawl.

They argue that with the exception of the Sydney north shore seat of Warringah, where former prime minister Tony Abbott was ousted by independent Zali Steggall, ALP candidates were the sole intended beneficiaries of GetUp’s campaign in the other five seats held by ­Dutton supporters.

The six MPs targeted by GetUp at this year’s poll were Mr Dutton in Dixon, Health Minister Greg Hunt in the Victorian seat of Flinders, Attorney-General Christian Porter in the WA seat of Pearce, backbencher Kevin Andrews in the Victorian seat of Menzies, Nic­olle Flint in the SA seat of Boothby and Mr Abbott.

In February, the electoral commission ruled GetUp was not associated with any political party, in a blow to Liberals who had complained of its conduct in the 2016 election campaign. The AEC determined that GetUp campaigned on the basis of party policies rather than parties or individuals.

However, Liberals now believe that GetUp’s tactics were so clearly party-political, and overwhelmingly personal, at this year’s campaign that they can mount a fresh bid for GetUp to be recognised as an arm of Labor and the Greens.

This would mean GetUp would be treated by the AEC as an “associated entity” under electoral laws in the same way as unions are, forcing them to higher standards of disclosure around funding and election material.

The Australian documented last month the extent to which Ms Flint was targeted by GetUp and unions in marginal Boothby, which she held despite what she called a campaign “to destroy her” and bolster her Labor rival.

The Australian understands the article was raised in the joint partyroom meeting two weeks ago when Liberal MPs said they should not take GetUp’s conduct lying down.

Ms Flint said yesterday she had been inundated with feedback from colleagues about the article, and she was preparing her own dossier on GetUp’s actions for a submission to the parliamentary standing committee on electoral matters.

Mr Andrews, who is also making a submission, revealed yesterday that the Liberals hoped to use the standing committee to force a rethink by the AEC on GetUp’s political allegiances.

“This committee is an opportunity for us to confirm GetUp for what they are once and for all, rather than allowing them to try to naively and innocently argue they are somehow politically independent,” he said. “If the electoral inquiry can come out and establish on the basis of our submissions that GetUp quite clearly acted like a political organisation at this year’s campaign, then there will be a chance to get the AEC to look at things again.”

Mr Andrews previously told The Australian he was falsely accused of supporting gay conversion therapy, a topic he has never discussed, with GetUp withdrawing the claim only after he threatened legal action.

He was also targeted by a multicultural group called Colour Code, which shared the same ­address as GetUp and distributed material in Mandarin to Chinese-Australian voters in his Melbourne electorate labelling him a racist.