Hamilton ‘breached Local Govt Act’
Some of Lord Mayoral candidate Mark Hamilton’s election posters appear to be illegal, Electoral Commissioner Kay Mousley says.
Mousley has asked Hamilton to remove or modify the posters following a complaint by fellow candidate Kelly Henderson.
The Local Government (Elections) Act requires candidates to include the name and address of the printer on each corflute.
Breaching Section 27 of the Act carries a maximum $2,500 fine.
Hamilton rejected any suggestion that his posters breached the Act, in a statement to InDaily this morning.
“The word ‘publish’ by definition of the Collins English Dictionary means to ‘print’,” Hamilton said.
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“My Cor Flutes DO identify the name and person who printed them, by virtue of identifying the publisher.
“I therefore do not accept that any of my election posters are non-compliant …
“In order to avoid a dispute about this I am taking steps IN ADDITION, to modify posters with stickers identifying the printer.”
Mousley would not comment on the specifics of the case, but confirmed Hamilton had been contacted as a result of Henderson’s complaint.
The Electoral Commission of South Australia (ECSA) requires candidates to remedy breaches of the Act “usually within a few days”, Mousley told InDaily.
However, she said, “each case will be different”.
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A letter sent from Mousley to Henderson last week, obtained by InDaily, reveals that: “I (Mousley) had been alerted to the election signs of Mr Hamilton by another complainant, and had taken that matter up with Mr Hamilton”.
“… the signs displayed by Mr Hamilton do not appear to be authorised as required by Section 27 of the Local Government (Elections) Act.
“I have asked that he either remove the material, or make it compliant by the addition of a sticker or similar containing the details of the printer.”
Henderson told InDaily the apparent breach raised questions about Hamilton’s candidacy.
“That section (of the Act) is brought to the attention of all candidates … but a lawyer should be aware of it in any event,” she said.
“As a lawyer, there are professional standards of conduct that apply, and knowledge of local government legislation is one of the basic requirements of a lawyer’s knowledge.
“This breach is a breach of state legislation and also of council policy, which elected members of council are responsible for complying with.”
Henderson said she had also contacted Hamilton to ask for an apology for flyers he sent out which accused her and fellow mayoral candidate Martin Haese of having no experience in Adelaide City Council.
Henderson said she had been heavily involved in council affairs for over a decade.
She said she had also complained to Adelaide City Council about A-Frame Hamilton posters, which she said had breached council regulations by their placement on a median strip of Hutt Street.
Last week, Haese accused the Hamilton team of breaching council regulations by erecting more than one poster on each pole.
Hamilton told InDaily he was not aware of the section of the Act which prohibited more than one poster per pole.
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