NSW Labor forced to delete website it purchased in the name of Gladys Berejiklian
NSW Labor forced to delete a website it purchased in the name of Gladys Berejiklian following a ruling by the internet domain name authority.
NSW Labor has been forced to delete a prominent website it purchased in the name of Premier Gladys Berejiklian following a ruling handed down by the country’s internet domain name administration authority, just weeks after it attacked political opponents for engaging in the same tactics.
NSW Liberal Party officials engaged lawyers to reclaim the website and file a complaint with auDA, an organisation endorsed by the Commonwealth to administer the rules for internet domain names using the .au country code.
Documents obtained by The Australian reveal the website, gladysberejiklian.com.au, was registered by the NSW branch of the Australian Labor Party and listed its chief contact as Tony Beuk.
Mr Beuk is the chief information officer and chief technology officer at the Australian Labor Party, according to his LinkedIn page.
A subsequent investigation concluded that the purchase of the website by the NSW ALP was in breach of auDA standards.
“We have investigated your complaint and determined that the domain name registration is in breach of auDA policy and accordingly, we have instructed the registrar of record to delete the domain name,” the ruling stated.
The address was subsequently deleted on April 20 and repurchased by the NSW Liberal Party.
NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay declined to comment on the matter, with a spokesman referring enquiries to the party’s head office. Comment has been sought from Mr Beuk and NSW Labor General Secretary Bob Nanva.
Last month NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay criticised the NSW National Party and Deputy Premier John Barilaro for allegedly engaging in similar tactics using websites registered in the names of political opponents.
It followed revelations in The Australian that the NSW Nationals had purchased a website address in the name of Labor’s Upper Hunter by-election candidate Jeff Drayton, prompting an angry response and claims of “dirty tricks” from Ms McKay. The by-election will be held on Saturday, May 22.
“We’ve already seen two fake websites that they’ve set up attacking two candidates in the Upper Hunter by-election and now we know the creation of these fake websites goes to the very heart of the Deputy Premier’s office,” Ms McKay said.
Labor’s deputy leader Yasmin Catley also branded the tactic “cheap and nasty gutter politics”.
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