All candidates for the State Government election are being asked not to use the Crime and Misconduct Commission’s complaints process in politically motivated attacks on their opponents.
The CMC has prepared a leaflet which will be sent to the Returning Officers in all state electorates to distribute to all candidates as they nominate. The CMC is also displaying the information on its website.
All candidates for the state election will receive the leaflet in information kits from the Electoral Commission. The information will also be sent to state secretaries of all political parties, and in a personal letter to each candidate from the CMC Chairperson.
The leaflet asks candidates not to misuse the CMC complaints process and urges them to keep any complaints confidential.
CMC Chairperson Robert Needham said that during previous election campaigns some candidates announced that certain allegations against political opponents had been referred to the CMC ‘for investigation’.
‘Often a complaint was never made or, if it was made, was baseless,’ Mr Needham said.
‘The publicity generated by allegations during an election campaign can be very damaging, if there is not enough time to undertake an investigation, even if the complaint is ultimately shown to be baseless.’
Mr Needham warned that anyone making a false complaint could be prosecuted, since it wasted public resources and could damage reputations.
He added that the media and members of the public should be cautious about any candidate who seeks to gain an unfair advantage during the campaign by publicising that allegations were being referred to the CMC.
‘The CMC is not discouraging genuine complaints.’
‘Any candidate or elected representative who has concerns about serious misconduct during the campaign, or at any other time, should contact the CMC, but, in the interests of fair play, they should not publicise that they have done so.’
The CMC treats all information provided to the Commission seriously and with discretion,’ Mr Needham said.
The CMC leaflet explains how genuine complaints can be made. Other information about the complaints process is also available on the CMC’s website.
ENDS
