ABC tells teal Alex Dyson to remove Four Corners content

The ABC has told teal candidate and former Triple J presenter Alex Dyson to remove Four Corners footage from his political ads.

Alex Dyson, teal candidate for the Victorian seat of Wannon.

The ABC has ordered teal candidate and former Triple J presenter Alex Dyson to remove Four Corners footage from his political advertisements on social media after he incorporated the content into his campaign ­material without the permission of the broadcaster.

The ads, which were authorised by Mr Dyson, feature a disaffected ex-president of the local Liberal Party branch, Peter Small, complaining that the party had forgotten the “Menzies true believers” in country Victoria, and called for voters to make Wannon a “swinging seat”.

The interview with Mr Small originally featured in an episode of Four Corners earlier this year. Although Mr Dyson’s ads ­included a tag that stated the footage was “courtesy of Four Corners, ABC”, he had neither sought nor received permission to use the material for his own political purposes.

When The Australian made the ABC aware of Mr Dyson’s political ads on Tuesday, the broadcaster contacted the teal candidate’s office to request the removal of the Four Corners clip.

“The ABC does not permit any of its content, logos or intellectual property to be reproduced for political purposes. We have asked that action be taken to remove this material immediately,” an ABC spokesman said.

Mr Dyson’s campaign spokesman said the “material was put up on social media by an enthusiastic volunteer”, adding that it would be taken down.

Victorian Liberal senator Sarah Henderson. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire

Victorian Liberal senator Sarah Henderson said Mr Dyson’s unauthorised use of the ABC footage raised questions about the independent candidate’s integrity.

“It’s astonishing that a teal candidate, who champions transparency and integrity, would resort to using unauthorised ABC footage to further his political agenda,” she said.

“This kind of behaviour sends the wrong message to the Australian public – integrity is ­clearly something Dyson talks about but doesn’t practice.”

Sitting MP Dan Tehan at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire

Wannon is currently held by Liberal MP Dan Tehan. At the 2022 election, he defeated Mr Dyson on a two-party-preferred count by 53.9 per cent to 46.1.