Zali Steggall (Warringah, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Prime Minister. Businesses in Warringah are bound by Australian Consumer Law. In particular, they're not allowed to mislead and deceive customers about their products or services, yet in contrast it's a free-for-all in political advertising during campaigns, where misleading and outright false claims are made by all sides of politics, resulting in a loss of trust in our political system and undermining of our democracy. Will the government introduce or support legislation for a minimum standard of truth in political advertising during political campaigns?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Warringah for her question. She would be aware that the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters undertakes a review of all matters in relation to the conduct of the most recent election. It will bring forward a report, and that would be considered by the government and the parliament. That is the appropriate place for those matters to be addressed and to be considered as they come before this parliament. But I would agree with the member for Warringah that the activities by GetUp! in the most recent election, and the actions they took against the former member for Warringah, were some of the grubbiest and some of the most despicable actions I've seen by what is indeed a political organisation masquerading as something independent. That includes the actions that GetUp! took against the former member for Warringah and that were stood up to by the member for Boothby. I commend the member for Boothby for staring down the bullying that was done by GetUp! to her in the last election. I also commend the member for Dickson, the member for Kooyong and the member for Menzies. I'm so pleased to see them here again, because the Liberal Party and the National Party will never be intimidated by the bullying tactics and the big union money that goes into GetUp! and the Labor Party.