Union robocalls target superannuation changes
Robocalls attacking the government on superannuation changes have been rolled out against government frontbencher Kelly O'Dwyer in her seat of Higgins.
PT0M41S 620 349Embattled Assistant Treasurer Kelly O'Dwyer has taken the extraordinary step of forcing Twitter to dismantle a social media "joke" account that compares her election campaign in Higgins to the disastrous 2013 loss of Indi by fellow Liberal Sophie Mirabella.
Meanwhile, former treasurer Peter Costello has rushed to Ms O'Dwyer's aid, sending a letter pleading with Higgins constituents to resist lodging a protest vote at the July 2 election.
Minister for Small Business and Assistant Treasurer Kelly O'Dwyer had demanded Twitter dismantle a joke account ridiculing her. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen
Mr Costello, who held Higgins in Melbourne's inner south-east for more than 19 years, says in his letter that a protest vote against Ms O'Dwyer could leave Australia with a minority government similar to that "when Julia Gillard and the Greens were running things".
He says that after the Rudd-Gillard years, the Turnbull Government's Budget is in deficit, debt has risen steeply and the government is paying its creditors $1 billion a month.
"I am concerned in this election there are candidates in Higgins that are promising to spend money that the Government doesn't have, and worse, some that don't even seem to understand the nature of our economic problems," his letter says, in an apparent reference to The Greens' Jason Ball, who a poll suggests is making ground on Ms O'Dwyer lead.
Despite holding what has long been considered one of the Liberal Party's safest seats, Ms O'Dwyer and the Liberal Party's social media advisor have forced Twitter to remove photos from an obscure Twitter account that has only 211 followers.
The Twitter account, named "Kelly the new Sophie", had used photographs of Ms O'Dwyer campaigning with Ms Mirabella.
Twitter says the photographic material from the account has been removed in response to a "Digital Millennium Copyright Act (USA) takedown notice". The notice lists the "copyright owner" as Kelly O'Dwyer.
Peter Costello's letter in support of Kelly O'Dwyer.
Twitter states the complaint was lodged by Jennifer Freind (sic), who is described as the social media advisor to the Victorian Liberal Party.
However, most of the photographs on the site appear to be under copyright not to Ms O'Dwyer, but to Fairfax Media.
The Twitter statement notes that Jennifer Freind had signed a statement declaring "the information in this notification is accurate, and I state under penalty of perjury that I am authorised to act on behalf of the copyright owner".
A member of the group that established the "Kelly the New Sophie" account (who wished to remain anonymous but claims links to the Liberal Party in Higgins) told Fairfax Media that Ms O'Dwyer's complaint to Twitter seemed "a bit of an overreaction to a joke account with 200 followers, a significant proportion of whom are pornbots".
An attempt has been made to contact Ms O'Dwyer by phone.
