THE TWEED Volume 2 #48 Thursday, August 12, 2010 Advertising and news enquiries: Phone: (02) 6672 2280 [email protected] [email protected] www.tweedecho.com.au LOCAL & INDEPENDENT Catch a wave to page 11 Candidate claims ‘identity theft’ Luis Feliu A spokesman for the Australian Electoral Commision (AEC) said it A Tweed-based independent candi- had limited powers under the Com- date for the seat of Richmond in the monwealth Electoral Act to deal with upcoming election has accused the electoral advertising on the internet. Liberal Party of ‘identity theft’ after ‘Those powers do not enable the AEC she ‘googled’ her own name on the to regulate the content of electoral internet only to find she had been advertising or where it appears on the redirected to the Liberals’ website. Internet. The AEC is also unable to Hastings Point resident Julie Boyd regulate what advertising is placed on says that many non-Liberal candi- Google and where it is located with dates who google their own name respect to electoral advertising,’ the will find themselves directed to the spokesman told The Echo. Liberal website while a name search A Liberal Party spokesperson said for some Labor candidates redirected that sponsored links were part of the the searcher to a website for ‘Labor party’s paid advertising strategy. The failures’. spokesperson said it was quite clear The first link that appears on the that the sponsored links were simply Google search page for ‘Julie Boyd advertising. Richmond’ belongs to the Liberal However, at the time of going to Barbara Waters with one of the colourful knitted blankets made for the Party with the words ‘sponsored link’ press, the Liberal Party appears to Making each needy. Photo Jeff ‘Purler’ Dawson beside it. have pulled the Google ads after Ms Boyd said it ‘looks like any non- threats they breached electoral laws roots charities and aid organisations area coordinator, helping organise Liberal candidate who googles their and could lead to a challenge of re- stitch count on the ground. meetings and hand stitching indi- own name will find themselves di- sults in marginal seats. These include the Addis Ababa Fis- vidual squares together. rected to the Liberal website’. Richmond independent candidate Kate McIntosh tula Hospital in Ethiopia. The centre It can take up to six hours to stitch ‘As none of these candidates are in Stephen Hegedus, a lawyer from By- provides treatment for women suffer- one individual blanket, but Barbara any way associated with the Liberal ron Bay, who was also affected by the For Murwillumbah’s Barbara Waters, ing debilitating childbirth injuries and says the experience is far from a chore. Party, this is a gross misrepresentation ads, told the Sydney Morning Herald each knitted square and stitch that was the subject of an award-winning ‘The nice thing about it is you can of each individual,’ she told The Echo. yesterday he would consider mount- goes into her colourful handmade documentary featured on the ABC’s sit there watching TV and it doesn’t ‘I work extremely hard to be accept- ing a challenge of election results in blankets is like a labour of love. Four Corners program. feel like work at all, but it’s actually ed as a truly independent candidate, the Court of Disputed Returns. Barbara is a long-time member of giving with unconditional love. You and this reflects on my reputation as ‘In this seat if there was a result the Australia-wide network known Wrap with Love don’t know where it [the blanket] is well as the reputation of every other where the Liberal Party candidate as Wrap with Love, who provide blan- Wrap with Love has had a presence going or who it’s going to. No one will person affected by this appalling be- was returned by a very narrow mar- kets to those in need. on the Tweed for about 13 years and ever thank you for it,’ she said. haviour.’ gin then I think it would be worth a Volunteers are asked to knit squares provided 130 blankets to the needy in ‘It’s just one of the most rewarding ‘This is effectively identity theft. challenge on public interest grounds which are then put together to form the past three years alone. and heart warming things.’ All those affected, including myself, purely for the sake of raising account- colourful woollen blankets that are Knitting has always been a con- Knitters meet at Mountain View are asking people not to click on any ability issues in relation to electoral distributed worldwide. stant in Barbara’s life. The 74-year- Retirement Village in Murwillumbah ‘sponsored links’ with the name of any advertising,’ Mr Hegedus told the Last year the non-profit organisa- old grandmother of six said she first on the first and third Tuesday of each candidate.’ SMH. tion, which was first established in began knitting when she was five month from 1.30pm to 4.30pm. Ms Boyd said the google-search- Electoral law expert Graeme Orr, 1992, provided about 37,000 blankets years old, helping family members For more information about Wrap redirection scam seems to target mar- based at the University of Queensland, in countries as diverse as Kazakhstan, knit socks and other items as part of with Love in the Murwillumbah area ginal seats around the country and told the SMH the ads could lead to Mongolia, East Timor and Papua war-time efforts. call Barbara on 02 6672 1660, or for that apparently 90 per cent of inde- a legal challenge as it could confuse New Guinea. She became involved in the organ- Tweed Coast, call Judi Williams on pendent and small party candidates voters about party affiliations and the Blankets are distributed by grass- isation some 10 years ago and is now 02 6674 2968. were affected. identities of candidates. ABN 82 087 650 682 <echowebsection=Local News> Local News Lightforce Computers Says: Heroic shark-attack rescue honoured We Will BEAT Apple’s Everyday Website & Apple Store Product PRICES * Kate McIntosh Syb paddled over to help his cousin, ramming the shark’s Just Arrived: The New Intel i3 iMacs Coming face to face with a head with his board in a bid deadly shark in the water is to get it to release his cousin. the stuff of most people’s worst ‘I got close and saw it blink nightmares. at me. 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