Labor still encouraging NT to vote for disgraced candidate Wayne Kurnorth

Despite publicly pledging to dump Mr Kurnorth for the offensive and anti-Semitic views he has espoused over the years, Labor has failed to follow through, reinforcing once again that Labor cannot be held to its word.

At pre-poll today, the Labor Party was still advocating a vote for Mr Kurnorth on its how-to-vote cards.

When a candidate is disendorsed after the AEC ballot papers have been finalised, it is important that the party stop all efforts to see that candidate elected, including stopping the distribution of how-to-vote cards which advocate a vote for the disendorsed candidate. 

By encouraging voters to vote “1” above the line on the Northern Territory Senate ballot paper, as Labor are currently doing, Bill Shorten and Labor are still pushing for Mr Kurnorth’s election. 

Had Mr Kurnorth truly been disendorsed as a Labor candidate, Labor would be encouraging electors to vote 1-12 below the line on their Northern Territory senate how-to-vote cards.

Campaign spokesman Simon Birmingham said that Bill Shorten was misleading voters.

“Bill Shorten not only lied to voters today when he said he had never met Wayne Kurnorth, but he is also lying to voters by pretending Labor has disendorsed him,” he said.

“By continuing to tell electors to vote to above the line on the NT senate ballot and by refusing to change Labor’s ballot paper, Bill Shorten is defending a disgraced candidate and has reneged on his commitment to dump him.”

“If Bill Shorten was serious about this matter he would immediately stop the distribution of materials that advocate a vote for Wayne Kurnorth.”

1 May 2019