Minister Michael Ronaldson waits on AEC call to act on Indi vote

SPECIAL Minister of State Michael Ronaldson expects the AEC to make a call on whether to widen the probe into Indi.

SPECIAL Minister of State Michael Ronaldson expects the Australian Electoral Commission to make a call on whether to widen a probe beyond the initial referral to police of 27 voters in the federal seat of Indi.

Senator Ronaldson told The Weekend Australian yesterday he hoped the commission would “look at the outcome of those initial investigations” and, if it thought it appropriate, consider “taking the matter further”.

The 27 voters at the centre of the investigation represent a small sample of those who may have switched their enrolments to vote for independent Cathy McGowan in Indi in the federal election despite living elsewhere.

“The community’s confidence in the commission has suffered significant damage over the last two years. I hope that its decision to move quickly in this case will start to restore confidence in the commission and the system generally,” he said.

Senator Ronaldson’s comments came as Jennifer Podesta, a Labor candidate in a Victorian seat in next month’s state election, said her son had re-enrolled legitimately in Indi from Melbourne last year.

Ms Podesta ran as an independent in the Indi last year and directed her preferences to Ms McGowan.

She said her son had lived in Melbourne for three years while a student at the Australian Ballet and on turning 18 had enrolled to vote there, then had gone overseas to audition for dance companies and had not lived in Melbourne since.

Now based in Slovakia, he had changed his enrolment address last year, “as when he is home ... he lives with his family in Wodonga”. “Any connection with the investigation of the McGowan campaign is purely coincidental,’’ she said.

Ms McGowan defeated the Liberal Party incumbent, Sophie Mirabella, by only 439 votes.