Rotovia
05-10-2004, 15:01
Dear God they've done it again. The Liberal Party has taken one of the most annoying things we are subjected to, bent us over the proverbial coffee table, and sodemised us with it. What place does telemarketing and internet spamming have in an election campaign? Anyway, read the article for yourself below or Click Here (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=19529).
Liberals give phoney campaign new twist
19:40 AEST Tue Oct 5 2004
The Liberal Party defended its decision to bombard households with pre-recorded phone messages from Prime Minister John Howard in the lead-up to polling day.
The coalition is expected to ring tens of thousands of homes before Saturday with messages from Mr Howard declaring his support for local candidates across the country.
The opposition and Australian Council for Civil Liberties have objected to the practice, saying those who did not want to receive the calls lacked the right to refuse them.
"You really shouldn't be trying to scare the kids at this part of the campaign," Opposition Leader Mark Latham told reporters.
"We'd better take the phone off the hook at home."
But Mr Howard told radio 5AA in Adelaide that the technique had been used previously in local government campaigns across Australia.
"I have recorded some messages to people," Mr Howard said.
"I'm making it clear they are recorded messages but I'm asking them to support (coalition) candidates.
"It's a way of very quickly and directly getting to people."
A Liberal Party campaign spokesman, who referred to them as advocacy calls, said the party had been contacting voters in this way since 1996.
The only difference was that in the past campaign workers had read from a prepared script, he said.
The spokesman said the party was not just focusing on marginal seats and because of the positive nature of their content they could not be classified as push-polling.
Opposition family and community services spokesman Wayne Swan said Mr Howard had introduced yet another bizarre United States-style campaigning tactic.
"This holus-bolus importation of a US campaign robot is another dirty trick from the US Republican Party the prime minister is happy to burden Australian voters with," Mr Swan said in a statement.
"John Howard's electorate has already suffered an unwelcome prime ministerial email spamming campaign; it now seems that no phone message machine in the country is safe."
Liberals give phoney campaign new twist
19:40 AEST Tue Oct 5 2004
The Liberal Party defended its decision to bombard households with pre-recorded phone messages from Prime Minister John Howard in the lead-up to polling day.
The coalition is expected to ring tens of thousands of homes before Saturday with messages from Mr Howard declaring his support for local candidates across the country.
The opposition and Australian Council for Civil Liberties have objected to the practice, saying those who did not want to receive the calls lacked the right to refuse them.
"You really shouldn't be trying to scare the kids at this part of the campaign," Opposition Leader Mark Latham told reporters.
"We'd better take the phone off the hook at home."
But Mr Howard told radio 5AA in Adelaide that the technique had been used previously in local government campaigns across Australia.
"I have recorded some messages to people," Mr Howard said.
"I'm making it clear they are recorded messages but I'm asking them to support (coalition) candidates.
"It's a way of very quickly and directly getting to people."
A Liberal Party campaign spokesman, who referred to them as advocacy calls, said the party had been contacting voters in this way since 1996.
The only difference was that in the past campaign workers had read from a prepared script, he said.
The spokesman said the party was not just focusing on marginal seats and because of the positive nature of their content they could not be classified as push-polling.
Opposition family and community services spokesman Wayne Swan said Mr Howard had introduced yet another bizarre United States-style campaigning tactic.
"This holus-bolus importation of a US campaign robot is another dirty trick from the US Republican Party the prime minister is happy to burden Australian voters with," Mr Swan said in a statement.
"John Howard's electorate has already suffered an unwelcome prime ministerial email spamming campaign; it now seems that no phone message machine in the country is safe."