Independent candidate Tracee Hutchison has hit back at a Liberal-authorised flyer targeting her in the Nepean by-election, calling it a dishonest attack and a sign of Liberal desperation.
The flyer, obtained by STPL News, brands Hutchison as “Jacinta Allan’s Secret Nepean Candidate?” and tries to tie her to Labor.
That is the central problem with the attack. Hutchison is running as an independent, not as a Labor candidate.
Read: Liberals Broaden Dirty Tactics Campaign
Hutchison Hits Back
Hutchison said the flyer said more about the Liberal campaign than it did about her.
Lazy and dishonest attacks are exactly why I am running – people want better representation. If the best the Liberal Party can do is dredge up a 2007 opinion piece calling for unity and pride in our flag, question my allyship with First Nations people, and force me to disclose my recent divorce and property settlement, it only underlines their desperation.
She also rejected any Labor link, saying her only connection was brief 2019 discussions about standing in Flinders to pressure then health minister Greg Hunt over Rosebud Hospital.
I have no affiliation with the Labor Party beyond brief discussions in 2019 about standing in Flinders to hold the then Health Minister, Greg Hunt, to account for failing to secure investment to rebuild Rosebud Hospital – the number one reason I am running now in Nepean. I have owned my home in Rosebud for 25 years, I am a long-term Mornington Peninsula ratepayer, deeply involved in this community, self-funding my campaign and focused on delivering for this community.
The Attack Line Falls Over
The Liberal line is blunt, but the public facts are also blunt.
Hutchison is running as an independent. Labor is not on the ballot. On that alone, the flyer reads less like scrutiny and more like a scare tactic.
What This Says About The Campaign
What stands out is not just this flyer. It is the pattern.
The Liberal Party has already circulated an anti-One Nation flyer targeting Darren Hercus. Now it has produced fresh material targeting Tracee Hutchison.
While other candidates are trying to win support, the Liberal Party is again using campaign material to discredit a rival. It is a combative approach that offers voters little in the way of a positive case for Anthony Marsh.
Hutchison’s response cuts straight to the point. If this flyer was meant to define her, it may instead end up defining the Liberal campaign.
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