Abbie Chatfield slams Senator Jane Hume over AEC investigation

A Queensland influencer has slammed a Liberal senator, saying she was made to feel like a scapegoat after a push to probe whether she’d contravened electoral laws.

Abbie Chatfield described the AEC investigation as a “waste” of resources. Picture: Instagram

Queensland influencer Abbie Chatfield has slammed Senator Jane Hume for approaching the Australian Electoral Commission about the guidelines around authorising collaborative posts on social media.

In a scathing video uploaded Wednesday night, Chatfield revealed she received dozens of requests for comment from journalists on Wednesday on her posts being probed by the AEC.

Greens Leader Adam Bandt and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently appeared in videos on Abbie Chatfield’s TikTok account. This sparked an investigation from the AEC following Senator Hume suggesting influencers were paid to produce political content.

Chatfield stated there was no reason to question the integrity of her content.

“I’m all for the AEC making sure everything goes by regulations so we have safe and fair elections. I repeatedly stated publicly I was not paid,” she said.

“Senator Hume wanted to launch an investigation, I believe, to make an example out of someone and scapegoat left-wing influencers to create distrust for the Australian public.”

An AEC spokesman said the commission’s review had concluded that “based on the facts as we currently understand them, the AEC found that this communication does not require an authorisation statement”.

Chatfield described the investigation as a waste of AEC resources.

Senator Jane Hume at the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Originally published as Abbie Chatfield slams Senator Jane Hume over AEC investigation