MP Nicolle Flint had to take order out against stalker during election campaign

Liberal MP Nicolle Flint, who was targeted by GetUp, unions outlines “sexist” harassment, intimidation.

Member for Boothby Nicolle Flint on the campaign trail. Picture: AAP

Liberal MP Nicolle Flint was forced to take a police order out against a stalker who followed her campaign events with a “zoom lens camera” and pursued her online launching personal attacks on his social media pages.

The 41-year-old, targeted by GetUp, the unions and Labor at the May 18 election, has also outlined the “sexist” harassment and intimidation tactics used against her during the campaign including the defacement of her campaign vehicle and office.

MORE: GetUp’s influence has got up and gone | GetUp chief Paul Oosting admits election mistakes

In a submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters inquiry into the federal election, the South Australian MP detailed personal safety fears and efforts to seek protection.

Attorney-General Christian Porter and leading conservative Kevin Andrews — also targeted by GetUp — also provided JSCEM submissions attacking GetUp’s “misleading” and “defamatory” tactics.

Outlining the personal attacks against her, Ms Flint revealed the windows of her campaign office were targeted with posters plastered with abuse including “skank”, “$60/hour” and “Blow & Go”. Her office was also egged.

A GetUp volunteer campaigns in Boothby during the election campaign. Picture: Gary Ramage

But the most serious incident involved an alleged stalker who would “appear frequently when I was at events and when I was campaigning, always with his zoom lens camera”.

“Posts about me on his social media pages appeared almost daily, as did his engagement on other sites aimed at unseating me,” Ms Flint said.

“As I often campaign alone and would not know when he would appear, this became a serious personal safety issue. Because I was driving a branded campaign vehicle I was highly visible and I was very concerned he would find out where I lived.

Ms Flint said she did “everything I could to stop his behaviour”.

As the incidents escalated and the stalker’s “social media posts became more concerning”, the Boothby MP was encouraged by colleagues to report the matter to the South Australian Police.

“(They) took the matter seriously and issued a stalking order for my protection.”

In August, Scott Morrison attacked GetUp, Labor and the unions over the tactics used to unseat Ms Flint, saying they should be “ashamed” and accused them of “misogyny and bullying”.

She warned the JSCEM committee that similar campaign behaviour at future elections could “risk the safety of candidates and sitting MPs”.

“This will harm our democracy. If candidates and Members of parliament no longer feel safe in their electorates, whether on their own or in the company of staff, colleagues and volunteers, the free and easy access Australians currently enjoy in relation to their elected representatives will end.”

Ms Flint recommended to the committee that GetUp, unions and Labor should undertake independent reviews of their campaign tactics in Boothby and publish their findings.

She also called on GetUp to be deemed an associated entity under the Commonwealth Electoral Act.

In his submission, Mr Andrews, a prominent conservative and former Howard and Abbott cabinet minister, said GetUp’s defamatory tactics were withdrawn only after he threatened to issue defamation proceedings. He said the “damage had been done”.

Mr Andrews, the Father of the House, also detailed harassment of voters, singling out both GetUp and Colour Code who had volunteers handing out material at polling booths.

In his submission, Mr Porter said assertions by GetUp that it made 180,000 calls to Pearce constituents appeared to be a “wild exaggeration”.

Mr Porter, who called for GetUp to be “rightly classified as an associated entity”, said if the group’s claims it had 5400 members in his electorate were accurate it would “be the biggest political organisation by membership in the state which seems unlikely”.

GetUp national director Paul Oosting hit back at criticism of GetUp, declaring the group looked “forward to responding to the committee”.

“We’ve always found previous committee chairs to be reasonable but this is looking more and more like a kangaroo court, straight from Trump’s playbook, with false and baseless claims made knowing they’ll be repeated,” Mr Oosting told The Australian.

AEC Commissioner Tom Rogers on Tuesday confirmed they had never declared GetUp’s campaigns were 100 per cent “issues based”, as asserted by the group in its submission.

“That is not something we would have said in any way shape or form,” Mr Rogers said.

Mr Rogers also told the Senate estimates inquiry the AEC had not ruled GetUp was “independent”.

“I have not, and to the best of my knowledge no one in the AEC has done that … it’s not a power that we have to declare someone either not independent or independent,” he said.