Lindsay pamphlet scandal
Encyclopedia
The Lindsay pamphlet scandal was an Australian electoral scandal in which Liberal Party
volunteers distributed fake election pamphlets, claiming to be from an Islam
ic organisation that was later found not to exist, that claimed the Labor Party
candidate would support clemency for convicted terrorists and the construction of a mosque
in the local area. The incident made national and even international headlines on November 21, 2007, four days before the 2007 Australian Federal election.
The retiring Liberal
member of parliament representing the federal Division of Lindsay
, Jackie Kelly
, was forced to explain why her husband, local orthodontist Gary Clark, was caught distributing the pamphlets with four other people. The pamphlets, claiming to be from "The Islamic Australia Federation", thanked the Australian Labor Party
(ALP) for supporting terrorists involved with the 2002 Bali bombings.
The scandal disrupted the election campaign of Prime Minister John Howard
.
by Liberal members. Due to a redistribution of electoral boundaries, St Marys had recently been moved from the safe Labor seat of Chifley
into Jackie Kelly's seat of Lindsay. Because of her impending retirement, Lindsay was at risk of falling to Labor.
At 6.30pm that night, a group of Liberal members met at a home in Ladbury Avenue, Penrith
. A short time later, they left that premises and entered another home across the street. This home was later identified as that of Kelly and her husband Gary Clark. In the meantime, Foley, Labor Senator Steve Hutchins
and several party volunteers had organised a "sting" operation directed from the Log Cabin Hotel in Penrith. As the Liberal members entered the home in Ladbury Avenue, a Labor party member was observing them from a car parked in the street. Another group of Labor volunteers were deployed by Hutchins to St Marys to await further instructions.
At 8.40pm, the group meeting in Ladbury Avenue left Kelly's home in three cars and drove to St Marys where they parted ways. Various Labor party members, now also including Hutchins and Foley, followed the group. In Boronia Road, the Liberal party group were approached and photographed by Hutchins and eight of his Labor volunteers as they attempted to distribute the bogus pamphlets. Hutchins immediately identified Jeff Egan, Liberal party power broker and member of the State Executive, also a former deputy mayor of the City of the Blue Mountains. Egan continues to deny he was involved in or had any knowledge of the scam. A short distance away, in Magnolia Street, more Labor operatives had similarly ambushed another group of Liberals led by Clark. Clark was photographed attempting to hide his face behind one of the hoaxed flyers; Egan was also photographed with them. Greg Chijoff, husband of the new Liberal candidate for the seat of Lindsay Karen Chijoff, was also found to be involved.
The pamphlet also misspelt Allahu Akbar
as "Ala Akba", with the ALP logo on either side. The logo used was an obsolete one that had been retired after the previous election in 2004. There was also no authorising statement, which all political advertising is required to include.
, who in turn referred it to the Australian Federal Police
.
On 22 March, 2008 NSW police confirmed that they had begun legal proceedings over the incident against five men including Greg Chijoff, Gary Clarke and Jeff Egan.
Jackie Kelly spoke about it on radio on 22 November in spite of a party directive not to do so. She said her first instinct when she saw the pamphlet was to laugh because it was a parody of some things that had occurred during the election campaign and compared it to a prank by the satirical comedy team The Chaser
.
The Prime Minister, John Howard
, had to spend part of his last pre-election public address to the National Press Club
on 22 November answering questions about the scandal rather than discussing his policies. He said that the Liberal Party had not authorised the leaflets, Howard was quoted as saying, "What more can I do? I have condemned it. I've dissociated myself from it. I think it's stupid, it's offensive, it's wrong, it's untrue. For heaven's sake, get a sense of proportion."
said the bogus election flyer showed that all the Liberal Party had to offer voters so close to the election was desperation and dirty tactics and that the Prime Minister still had questions to answer over the incident.
-based chairman of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils
, Ikebal Patel, said falsification of election material created a further rift between mainstream community and Muslims. The current Mufti of Australia, Fehmi Naji
, said "When people read stuff like that, they say 'why are we putting up with Muslims?' We want to stop that thought, and show that we can live together and carry out our duty to our country together." It was subsequently reported that Naji was unable to be contacted during the scandal.
In response to Kelly's claim that the matter was a "Chaser-style prank" Chaser member Julian Morrow
called the prank "ham-fisted" and said the pamphlet did not read like a joke. He acknowledged that The Chaser had done a stunt in Mosman
that involved claiming a mosque was to be built in the neighbourhood and asking for comments from people on the street. However, he said the aim of their stunt was to reveal the prejudices in the Australian community, not accentuate them in order to try to return the Coalition to government.
On the day of the election, Chaser member Chas Licciardello
confronted Karen Chijoff in an Osama bin Laden
costume he had used previously during the APEC summit
and attempted to pass her copies of the flyer.
On 19 May 2009, Clark was found guilty of producing the unauthorised pamphlets and fined $1,100, plus $2,000 in court costs. Egan, however, was found not guilty.
Karen Chijoff declared both her political career and her marriage to be "truly over", and would look toward rejoining the workforce. However, she did not rule out a return to politics at some stage, declaring it would be up to the Liberal Party to make that decision. Ms Chijoff continues to deny any knowledge of the leaflet campaign.
In June 2008, Labor alleged it has reason to believe the pamphlets were printed at a Liberal MP's office at taxpayer expense.
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
volunteers distributed fake election pamphlets, claiming to be from an Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic organisation that was later found not to exist, that claimed the Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
candidate would support clemency for convicted terrorists and the construction of a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
in the local area. The incident made national and even international headlines on November 21, 2007, four days before the 2007 Australian Federal election.
The retiring Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
member of parliament representing the federal Division of Lindsay
Division of Lindsay
The Division of Lindsay is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. It is located in the outer western suburbs of Sydney, and is centred around Penrith. It also includes the suburbs of Castlereagh, Mulgoa and Werrington....
, Jackie Kelly
Jackie Kelly
Jacqueline Marie Kelly , former Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 until November 2007, representing the Division of Lindsay, New South Wales.-Early career:...
, was forced to explain why her husband, local orthodontist Gary Clark, was caught distributing the pamphlets with four other people. The pamphlets, claiming to be from "The Islamic Australia Federation", thanked the Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
(ALP) for supporting terrorists involved with the 2002 Bali bombings.
The scandal disrupted the election campaign of Prime Minister John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
.
The scandal
On 20 November 2007, an anonymous member of the Liberal Party contacted the assistant secretary of the ALP, Luke Foley, with information that a flyer linking Foley's party with an extremist Islamic organisation was to be distributed in letterboxes throughout the suburb of St MarysSt Marys, New South Wales
St Marys is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales Australia. St Marys is located 45 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith....
by Liberal members. Due to a redistribution of electoral boundaries, St Marys had recently been moved from the safe Labor seat of Chifley
Division of Chifley
-References:*...
into Jackie Kelly's seat of Lindsay. Because of her impending retirement, Lindsay was at risk of falling to Labor.
At 6.30pm that night, a group of Liberal members met at a home in Ladbury Avenue, Penrith
Penrith, New South Wales
Penrith is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Penrith is located west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Penrith...
. A short time later, they left that premises and entered another home across the street. This home was later identified as that of Kelly and her husband Gary Clark. In the meantime, Foley, Labor Senator Steve Hutchins
Steve Hutchins
Stephen Patrick Hutchins , Australian politician, has been a member of the Australian Senate for the state of New South Wales since October 1998, representing the Australian Labor Party.Hutchins was born in Sydney...
and several party volunteers had organised a "sting" operation directed from the Log Cabin Hotel in Penrith. As the Liberal members entered the home in Ladbury Avenue, a Labor party member was observing them from a car parked in the street. Another group of Labor volunteers were deployed by Hutchins to St Marys to await further instructions.
At 8.40pm, the group meeting in Ladbury Avenue left Kelly's home in three cars and drove to St Marys where they parted ways. Various Labor party members, now also including Hutchins and Foley, followed the group. In Boronia Road, the Liberal party group were approached and photographed by Hutchins and eight of his Labor volunteers as they attempted to distribute the bogus pamphlets. Hutchins immediately identified Jeff Egan, Liberal party power broker and member of the State Executive, also a former deputy mayor of the City of the Blue Mountains. Egan continues to deny he was involved in or had any knowledge of the scam. A short distance away, in Magnolia Street, more Labor operatives had similarly ambushed another group of Liberals led by Clark. Clark was photographed attempting to hide his face behind one of the hoaxed flyers; Egan was also photographed with them. Greg Chijoff, husband of the new Liberal candidate for the seat of Lindsay Karen Chijoff, was also found to be involved.
The pamphlet
The pamphlet claimed to be from "The Islamic Australia Federation", a non-existent organisation. It strongly urged support for the Labor party in the upcoming federal election and went on to praise the ALP on a number of divisive issues, including:- [forgiving] our Muslim brothers who have been unjustly sentenced to death for the Bali bombings, referring to the Labor party's opposition to the death penaltyCapital punishment in AustraliaCapital punishment has been formally abolished in Australia. It was last used in 1967, when Ronald Ryan was hanged in Victoria. Ryan was the last of 114 people executed in the 20th century and prior to his execution Queensland and New South Wales had already abolished the death penalty for murder....
(in particular Robert McClellandRobert McClelland (Australian politician)Robert Bruce McClelland is the Attorney-General of Australia. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of theAustralian House of Representatives since March 1996, representing the Division of Barton, New South Wales...
's comments) and the Liberals' argument that this policy supports the Bali bombers themselves - Supporting the construction of a new mosqueMosqueA mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
, as well as the opening of a new mosque in St MarysSt Marys, New South WalesSt Marys is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales Australia. St Marys is located 45 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith....
with the help of local and state government funding - Support for controversial former Grand MuftiGrand MuftiThe title of Grand Mufti refers to the highest official of religious law in a Sunni or Ibadi Muslim country. The Grand Mufti issues legal opinions and edicts, fatwā, on interpretations of Islamic law for private clients or to assist judges in deciding cases...
Sheik Taj El-Din HilalyTaj El-Din HilalySheikh Taj El-Din Hamid Hilaly , is an Imam of the Lakemba Mosque in Sydney and an Australian Sunni Muslim leader. The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils appointed him Mufti of Australia in 1988. His name is alternatively spelt Tajeddin Hilaly, Hilali, Al-Hilaly, Taj el-Din al-Hilali, Aldin...
(spelt "Al-Hilaly")
The pamphlet also misspelt Allahu Akbar
Takbir
The Takbīr or Tekbir is the Arabic term for the phrase ' . It is usually translated "God is [the] Greatest," or "God is Great". It is a common Islamic Arabic expression...
as "Ala Akba", with the ALP logo on either side. The logo used was an obsolete one that had been retired after the previous election in 2004. There was also no authorising statement, which all political advertising is required to include.
Police investigation
The matter was referred by both the Labor and Liberal parties to the Australian Electoral CommissionAustralian Electoral Commission
The Australian Electoral Commission, or the AEC, is the federal government agency in charge of organising and supervising federal elections and referendums. State and local government elections are overseen by the Electoral Commission in each state and territory.The Australian Electoral Commission...
, who in turn referred it to the Australian Federal Police
Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police is the federal police agency of the Commonwealth of Australia. Although the AFP was created by the amalgamation in 1979 of three Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, it traces its history from Commonwealth law enforcement agencies dating back to the federation of...
.
On 22 March, 2008 NSW police confirmed that they had begun legal proceedings over the incident against five men including Greg Chijoff, Gary Clarke and Jeff Egan.
Liberal Party response
Jeff Egan and Gary Clark were immediately expelled from the Liberal Party for their part in the Lindsay affair. Greg Chijoff, who was not a party member, was refused permission to further participate in his wife's campaign for election. While Egan denied all knowledge of the affair as a deliberate scam, Clark and Chijoff both sent letters of apology to NSW Liberal director Graham Jaeschke in which they claimed their wives were also unaware of the plot. Karen Chijoff also claims she knew nothing of it. This claim was later questioned by senior Liberals.Jackie Kelly spoke about it on radio on 22 November in spite of a party directive not to do so. She said her first instinct when she saw the pamphlet was to laugh because it was a parody of some things that had occurred during the election campaign and compared it to a prank by the satirical comedy team The Chaser
The Chaser
The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedian group, known for their television programmes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation channel. The group take their name from their production of satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste...
.
The Prime Minister, John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
, had to spend part of his last pre-election public address to the National Press Club
National Press Club (Australia)
The National Press Club is an association of primarily news journalists, but also includes academics, business people and members of the public service, and is based in Canberra, Australia. It was founded in the 1960s as the National Press Luncheon Club by a few journalists with the backing of the...
on 22 November answering questions about the scandal rather than discussing his policies. He said that the Liberal Party had not authorised the leaflets, Howard was quoted as saying, "What more can I do? I have condemned it. I've dissociated myself from it. I think it's stupid, it's offensive, it's wrong, it's untrue. For heaven's sake, get a sense of proportion."
ALP response
Labor leader Kevin RuddKevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
said the bogus election flyer showed that all the Liberal Party had to offer voters so close to the election was desperation and dirty tactics and that the Prime Minister still had questions to answer over the incident.
Islamic community response
The SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
-based chairman of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils
Australian Federation of Islamic Councils
The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils was founded in 1964 as an umbrella group for various Islamic groups or councils, and is considered Australia's most important Islamic organisation. The mission of AFIC is to provide service to the community in a manner that is in accordance with the...
, Ikebal Patel, said falsification of election material created a further rift between mainstream community and Muslims. The current Mufti of Australia, Fehmi Naji
Fehmi Naji
Fehmi Naji El-Imam AM is the Grand Mufti of Australia. His predecessor, Taj El-Din Hilaly, retired on 10 June, 2007. He is secretary of the Victorian Board of Imams. Sheik Naji is currently the Grand Mufti and highest sunni leader in Australia, however there has been disputes whether the Mufti is...
, said "When people read stuff like that, they say 'why are we putting up with Muslims?' We want to stop that thought, and show that we can live together and carry out our duty to our country together." It was subsequently reported that Naji was unable to be contacted during the scandal.
Media commentary
Media reports suggested this incident was part of a pattern of deceptive behaviour undertaken by Liberal party members in previous elections. Various materials, including fake how-to-vote cards and pamphlets with the ALP logo, were allegedly produced by Liberal Party members.In response to Kelly's claim that the matter was a "Chaser-style prank" Chaser member Julian Morrow
Julian Morrow
Julian Francis Xavier Morrow is an Australian comedian and television producer from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is best known for being a member of the satirical team The Chaser...
called the prank "ham-fisted" and said the pamphlet did not read like a joke. He acknowledged that The Chaser had done a stunt in Mosman
Mosman, New South Wales
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman.-Localities:In February...
that involved claiming a mosque was to be built in the neighbourhood and asking for comments from people on the street. However, he said the aim of their stunt was to reveal the prejudices in the Australian community, not accentuate them in order to try to return the Coalition to government.
On the day of the election, Chaser member Chas Licciardello
Chas Licciardello
Chas John Licciardello is a comedian from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
confronted Karen Chijoff in an Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
costume he had used previously during the APEC summit
The Chaser APEC pranks
The Chaser APEC pranks were a series of comic stunts that targeted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders Summit , in Sydney, Australia. They were coordinated and performed by the Australian satire group The Chaser for the television series The Chaser's War on Everything...
and attempted to pass her copies of the flyer.
Aftermath
Five men were charged over the Lindsay leaflet scandal. On 29 April 2008 Greg Chijoff and Troy Craig pleaded guilty over the scam when it went before the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney. The charges against Craig were dismissed. Chijoff was fined $750 on 7 May. The husband of former Liberal MP Jackie Kelly, Gary Clark, and Jeffrey Egan pleaded not guilty and their cases were adjourned to 27 May. A fifth man who was charged, Robert Mathew Holstein, was fined $500 on 20 May.On 19 May 2009, Clark was found guilty of producing the unauthorised pamphlets and fined $1,100, plus $2,000 in court costs. Egan, however, was found not guilty.
Karen Chijoff declared both her political career and her marriage to be "truly over", and would look toward rejoining the workforce. However, she did not rule out a return to politics at some stage, declaring it would be up to the Liberal Party to make that decision. Ms Chijoff continues to deny any knowledge of the leaflet campaign.
In June 2008, Labor alleged it has reason to believe the pamphlets were printed at a Liberal MP's office at taxpayer expense.
See also
- List of Australian political scandals
- Political scandalPolitical scandalA political scandal is a kind of political corruption that is exposed and becomes a scandal, in which politicians or government officials are accused of engaging in various illegal, corrupt, or unethical practices...