2022-04-27
As election attack corflutes once again begin littering Canberra streets, the ACT Greens have again called for a ban on roadside electoral signs.
“People wouldn’t put these dishonest attack ads in their own front yards - it’s only because they’re anonymously put up on the streets that this type of misleading campaigning continues”, ACT Greens candidate for Canberra Tim Hollo said today
“We saw this happen last election as well, with thousands of misleading attack corflutes littering our streets”, Hollo continued
At the last federal election in May 2019, and the ACT election in October 2020, the Greens did not use roadside electoral signage – instead, corflutes were only displayed in private yards, demonstrating people’s personal commitment. This avoided the waste of thousands of plastic corflutes being destroyed often within hours of being erected.
“We know most Canberrans don’t like them, and we had our best ever election result in 2020 after refusing to use them, so I don’t know who the candidates think they’re winning over by littering the streets," Hollo continued.
“It’s great to see our colleagues in the Legislative Assembly working to ban them for Territory elections and I’d like to see the same for federal elections.”
“I’m also delighted that our ACT Greens have negotiated truth in political advertising laws that will be in force for the next Territory election. It’s that kind of leadership Canberrans can expect at a Federal level by electing Greens.”
“A huge number of roadside corflutes have emerged over the past two weeks, - and no surprise, given there is currently no limit on how many signs can be displayed in any one area.
“It’s well past time to get rid of these annoying electoral signs – they are a huge waste of plastic, and they rarely even communicate what people are campaigning for,
“The ACT’s long-standing ban on advertising in public spaces is supported by 90% of Canberrans. We saw the strength of community support again recently, when my petition to actually remove illegal advertisements reached the 500 signature threshold that saw it referred to the Planning, Transport and City Services Committee.”
“The Greens encourage strong public discourse, where individuals and households and businesses can participate in the election by putting a sign in their own front yard or window."
“Roadside corflutes, on the other hand, indicate nothing about the level of public support for a candidate, just how much money they have."
The yard signs the Greens do use end up being recycled in a range of different ways, including as house insulation, building chook sheds, as habitat for local wombats or painted over for protest signs.