Three Liberal campaign workers have been accused of harassing volunteers, voters and a rival candidate outside the Rosebud early voting centre, with STPL News supplied videos, photographs and audio showing repeated confrontations during the final week of pre-poll voting.
The material, supplied by several sources including campaign volunteers and members of the public, shows the same group of Liberal campaign workers repeatedly directing comments at One Nation volunteers, voters and One Nation candidate Darren Hercus.
The Nepean by-election was triggered by the resignation of former Liberal MP Sam Groth and will be held on Saturday 2 May. Early voting opened on Wednesday 22 April and closes at 6pm on Friday 1 May, according to the Victorian Electoral Commission.
In one video reviewed by STPL News, Hercus is seen speaking with a voter when a Liberal campaign worker calls out:
Don’t let One Nation privatise Rosebud Hospital.
The same Liberal campaign worker then says:
Without privatising the hospital, we’ll keep it public.
The footage shows the main Liberal campaign worker standing very close to a One Nation volunteer and, at several points, appearing to move into her personal space while the exchange continues.
Taunts Directed At Volunteers
The three Liberal campaign workers are heard bouncing comments between each other, at times mocking the volunteer filming, One Nation campaigners and Hercus.
One Liberal campaign worker says the woman filming is making “a short film about pre-poll”, while another asks:
Actually, are you making a documentary about privatising Rosebud Hospital?
The group also makes repeated comments about the woman’s phone, camera and storage as she continues filming.
As Liberal campaign workers continue mocking the One Nation volunteer filming, Hercus is heard saying:
We just want some evidence that you’re lying, mate.
A Liberal campaign worker replies:
Take all the evidence you guys need.
Hospital Claim Repeated To Voters
The hospital claim is repeated several times as voters move through the pre-poll area.
At one point, a Liberal campaign worker says:
Anthony Marsh, keep Rosebud Hospital public. One Nation wants to privatise it. Don’t let them get away with it.
A One Nation volunteer responds:
No, we don’t.
At one point, a Liberal campaign worker interrupts a conversation between Hercus and a voter, saying:
One Nation wants to privatise Rosebud Hospital. Only way to keep it public is vote Liberal.
Later in the same video, a Liberal campaign worker says:
We’re going to rebuild the hospital.
A One Nation volunteer responds:
Absolute lies.
A member of the public then says:
No. It’s not acceptable when Liberal volunteers lie to voters.
The Liberal campaign worker later says:
Pretty sure it says private. Don’t let One Nation privatise the hospital.
The exchange shows the dispute over Rosebud Hospital was not limited to rival campaigners, with at least one member of the public directly challenging the Liberal volunteers’ claims.
Volunteer Confronts Liberal Worker
The video also shows a One Nation volunteer directly confronting the Liberal campaign worker over the group’s conduct at pre-poll.
The volunteer is heard saying:
What are you going to do in November when you lot get pushed down the ticket because of the way you have treated us today?
He continues:
And you will single-handedly be responsible for losing a Jess Wilson election.
And you will single-handedly be responsible for losing a Jess Wilson election.
Later, when an electoral officer approaches and asks, “All happy, everybody?”, Hercus replies:
No, not with this guy.
The One Nation volunteer then says:
He won’t stop touching.
The electoral officer is heard suggesting people “move around a bit or change spots” and “sit next to somebody else who’s not aggressive or whatever”.
Jess Wilson MP appears in the frame during part of the footage. The footage reviewed by STPL News does not show her intervening in the exchange.
Second Video Shows Further Exchange
A second video supplied to STPL News shows the same Liberal campaign worker positioned near Hercus and the person filming.
In that exchange, the volunteer says:
I mean, you’ve still, you’ve decided to stand on the other side of me now, but…
The Liberal campaign worker responds:
No, I just wanted to stand next to my mate Darren.
The volunteer then says she is filming him because he has been “rather nasty”, which the Liberal campaign worker denies.
The same exchange again turns to Rosebud Hospital, with a voter heard challenging the campaign’s use of the privatisation claim:
It’s not the same as privatisation, is it?
The Liberal campaign worker later responds:
I thought it was just private, private, private. Like how they want the hospital to be.
Photographs supplied separately to STPL News appear to show members of the Liberal group being spoken to by a VEC officer. STPL News has not independently confirmed what was said during that exchange.
Another image, described by the person who supplied it as having been taken later in the evening, appears to show members of the same group with phones out during a separate confrontation involving a member of the public.
The material supplied to STPL News is not confined to one incident or one complainant.
Complaints about the group’s conduct have come from several sources, including volunteers and members of the public.
Campaign Tensions Spill Into Pre-Poll
The confrontation comes after STPL News reported a sharper turn in the Liberal campaign, with Liberal-authorised anti-One Nation flyers, authorised video material and text messages circulating across Nepean and pushing the claim that One Nation wants to privatise Rosebud Hospital.
See: Liberal Campaign Goes Harder Negative
Rosebud Hospital has become one of the defining issues in the by-election. STPL News previously reported that the Liberal campaign had pledged a $340 million rebuild only if elected to government, while One Nation had promoted a public-private partnership model as a faster delivery pathway.
That dispute now appears to be spilling directly into the pre-poll environment.
In the first video reviewed by STPL News, Liberal campaign workers repeatedly tell voters One Nation wants to privatise Rosebud Hospital. In the second video, a voter is heard questioning whether a public-private partnership is the same as privatisation.
The incident also comes amid wider pressure on Liberal candidate Anthony Marsh. STPL News reported this week that the Liberal campaign had escalated its attacks on One Nation in a seat where Labor is not fielding a candidate.
The VEC’s published candidate list includes One Nation, Liberal, the Greens, Sustainable Australia, Reform AU, Libertarian, Independent and Legalise Cannabis candidates. Labor is not listed among the candidates.
In that context, the footage from Rosebud pre-poll is not an isolated campaign-floor dispute. It is the latest flashpoint in a by-election already marked by negative campaign material, pressure over Rosebud Hospital, and visible tension between Liberal and One Nation campaigners.
VEC Rules Cover Conduct Around Voting Centres
The VEC’s campaigning-at-voting-centres determination says an accessible voting service includes an experience free from interference, intimidation or violence.
It also says election officials have power to maintain order and keep the peace at voting centres, and may cause a person to be removed if they obstruct an approach to a voting centre, unnecessarily delay proceedings, behave in a disorderly manner, remain longer than reasonably necessary for voting, or cause a disturbance.
Early voting for the Nepean by-election remains open until Friday 1 May, with election day on Saturday 2 May.
The incidents come during an increasingly tense final week of the Nepean by-election campaign, where Rosebud pre-poll has become a key battleground.
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