Jacinta Price accuses Labor of disrupting her crowdfunding page

Jacinta Price has accused the ALP of “callously and vindictively” trying to disrupt a crowdfunding page in support of her campaign for Lingari.

CLP candidate Jacinta Price with Prime Minister Scott Morrison in Jabiru, NT, last month. Picture: AAP

Coalition candidate Jacinta Price has accused Labor of “callously and vindictively” trying to disrupt a crowdfunding page established by a Queensland-based supporter to help her campaign for the outback Northern Territory seat of Lingiari.

The NT branch of the Australian Labor Party wrote to the administrators of the page, GoFundMe, earlier this month, warning that the page could breach Australian election laws.

According to a copy of the letter dated 15 February and obtained by The Australian, Labor argued the page was not duly authorised and could circumvent donations disclosure requirements by accepting anonymous contributions.

As of this morning, the page had raised $17,470 of a $250,000 goal and featured named donations attributed to prominent figures including the former NT chief minister Marshall Perron.

NT ALP branch secretary Anthony Brereton confirmed the letter was genuine and rhetorically asked if the GoFundMe page was “tracking all donations” to Ms Price’s campaign.

“The CLP has form with dodgy donations,” Mr Brereton said.

“Labor had concerns around the existence and legitimacy of the GoFundMe page, this was not a personal attack on Ms Price. This was a genuine inquiry to the AEC to ensure the donations were in line with commonwealth Electoral Act 1918.”

In his letter to GoFundMe, Mr Brereton wrote that he had asked the Australian Electoral Commissioner to launch an investigation and called on GoFundMe to suspend the page and return all donations collected so far.

The GoFundMe page for Jacinta Price.

The page remained active earlier today.

According to a second letter obtained by The Australian, the AEC told Mr Brereton earlier this week that it had reviewed the page without identifying any breaches.

“When a person makes a donation via the webpage, the webpage allows the donor the option of hiding the donor name to the public but not the organiser of the page,” the AEC said.

“The person collecting donations (should those donations be passed on to a candidate or political party) has a responsibility under the Electoral Act to maintain adequate records to allow for full disclosure.”

“Regarding authorisation, the GoFundMe page does not infringe the authorisation requirements in section 321D of the Electoral Act.”

Ms Price accused Labor of deploying “underhanded tactics to try to interfere in my campaign because clearly they feel threatened.”

“Rather than focus on issues important to the people of Lingiari, they would try to strip funding from me as an Aboriginal woman candidate up against an old white male in a large indigenous electorate,” Ms Price said.

Country Liberal Party Territory director Jason Riley said Mr Brereton had “clearly signalled his concern Jacinta Price is performing very well”

“His letter to GoFundMe on 15 February 2019 was a clumsy effort to have the page shut down, regardless that Labor candidates also use the platform for fundraising.”

The AEC said the page had been created by a woman called Katherine Clothier, who Ms Price described as a friend.

An AEC spokesman told the Australian the Electoral Act “does not restrict this type of fundraising, although Ms Clothier, Ms Price and/or the Country Liberal Party may have disclosure obligations to the AEC in relation to donations received and given.”