Mornington Peninsula — Liberal candidate Zoe McKenzie has again taken aim at the Mornington Peninsula News Group (MPNG), this time over a published letter alleging her involvement in the controversial lease of the Port of Darwin to a Chinese-owned company — a claim she has labelled as “fiction”.

In a new Facebook post titled “MORE MYTHBUSTING THE BS”, McKenzie accused the local outlet of spreading falsehoods, stating:

“So, it’s Wednesday, and we all know what that means!
Pinging the porkies in the local paper!”

This latest post follows a prior incident reported by STPL News last week, where McKenzie slammed MPNG for publishing a Letter to the Editor questioning her residential status. In that case, she categorically rejected suggestions that she lived outside the Flinders electorate or had exploited a “loophole,” describing the claims as “poppycock” and asserting that the publication should “know better than to print this trash.”

In the latest instalment, McKenzie turned her attention to a separate letter printed by the paper — this time from a contributor identified as Shaun McDonald of Hastings. The letter accuses McKenzie, in her previous role as Chief of Staff to then Trade Minister Andrew Robb, of helping facilitate the 99-year lease of the Port of Darwin.

McKenzie responded with a detailed rebuttal, stating:

• Neither she nor the Trade Minister had any involvement in the Port of Darwin lease,
• The decision was made solely by the Northern Territory Government,
• It was considered by the National Security Committee,
• The matter never went to Cabinet, and
• She learned about the deal “in the newspapers like everyone else.”

She also challenged the credibility of the letter itself, claiming:

“There is no Shaun McDonald in Hastings (or anywhere enrolled in Flinders).”

McKenzie alleged that at least six of the letters to the editor published this week used names that do not correspond to anyone on the electoral roll — something she says is easily verifiable by both MPs and journalists.

“The MPNG can check this, easily, but doesn’t,” she wrote.
“Come on MPNG – do better.”

The exchange adds to a string of recent disputes between McKenzie and the Mornington Peninsula News Group, as the federal election campaign gathers pace. With the community increasingly focused on facts and accountability, the situation highlights the ongoing challenge of ensuring accuracy in local political coverage — particularly in letters and opinion pieces published during a sensitive campaign period.