Advance has been bankrolling an anti-Greens campaign in the Prahran byelection, but was taken to the Supreme Court after placing signs against the rules.
Advance has been bankrolling an anti-Greens campaign in the Prahran byelection, but was taken to the Supreme Court after placing signs against the rules.
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By Rachel Eddie
February 8, 2025 — 11.14am
The Victorian Electoral Commission sought a Supreme Court injunction against right-wing lobby group Advance for repeatedly putting up posters that breached campaign rules in the tense Prahran byelection.
Tens of thousands of voters were on Saturday casting their ballots in dual byelections – in the Greens-held seat in inner Melbourne, and in the Labor-held electorate of Werribee in the west.
Lobby group Advance has helped bankroll a campaign against the Greens in Prahran, where candidate and environmental engineer Angelica Di Camillo faces a tough contest to retain the seat for the minor party. Liberal candidate Rachel Westaway, who was until recently a senior member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, has a genuine chance of flipping the seat after swapping preferences with ex-Labor MP turned independent Tony Lupton.
The Age this week revealed the VEC was investigating a complaint from the Greens, which alleged Advance was using federal donations in the state campaign in breach of the law. Advance refuted this.
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The electoral commission separately sought an urgent injunction to stop Advance putting up political signs within 100 metres of early voting booths this week, even after it had been directed against it.
An Advance spokesman accused the VEC of a “heavy-handed overreaction to Australians participating in an election”, claiming to have already agreed to remind volunteers of the rules.
“It is difficult to see how this was anything other than a politically motivated attack designed to exclude our supporters from the democratic process.”
Supreme Court documents show the electoral commission on Monday sought an urgent injunction, which was heard on Tuesday.
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A VEC spokeswoman said the electoral commission was first alerted last Saturday to Advance signs that breached electoral law for being within 100 metres of the two early-voting booths in Prahran.
Only candidates and registered political parties – not third-party campaigners such as Advance – can place signs near voting booths.
“We asked the campaigners to remove the signs from the 100-metre zone. They complied on Saturday, although the signs were placed in breach of the 100-metre zone again on Monday morning,” the spokeswoman said.
“Again, we asked them to remove the signs, and they complied.”
The VEC then brought the matter to court in an attempt to prevent any more breaches.
“Where education doesn’t address non-compliance with the law, or when we suspect an offence may have been committed, or where there is evidence of further offending, we may investigate and take action in proportion with the level of harm.”
Court action was discontinued when Advance gave an undertaking “not to place the signs in breach of the requirements, and to instruct their campaigners accordingly”, the VEC spokeswoman said, thanking Advance for the commitment.
Advance claimed the VEC withdrew the action when it was clear it would be “spectacularly unsuccessful” and that the electoral commission agreed to pay costs.
“We are taking further advice on this matter,” a spokesman for the lobby group said.
The Australian Electoral Commission this week released data on how much was raised and spent by federal campaigners in 2023-24. It revealed that Liberal Party-associated entity the Cormack Foundation had donated $500,000 to Advance.
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Rachel Eddie is a Victorian state political reporter for The Age. Previously, she was a city reporter and has covered breaking news.Connect via Twitter or email.
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