The article centers on push polls targeting Australian Teal independent MPs, particularly Zoe Daniel. These polls, criticized as "dirty tactics" and an "affront to democracy," allegedly aim to influence voter opinion by using loaded questions about Climate 200 funding of Teal campaigns.
Teal sources implicated Climate 200, which denied involvement. Coalition campaign spokesman James Paterson accused Daniel's supporters of hypocrisy. Conversely, the polling company, uComms, defended their methods, claiming adherence to Australian Polling Council guidelines.
The controversy highlights the contentious nature of political campaigning and the use of potentially misleading polling techniques.
“The CSIRO have estimated that it will cost $600 billion to build and roll out the Liberals’ nuclear plan of the following. How would you most like to see their nuclear plan paid for?”
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Modelling released by the Coalition from Frontier Economics predicts its nuclear policy will be 44 per cent cheaper than Labor’s renewables-led plan over coming decades.
Last month, The Guardian reported a separate push poll that criticised teals such as Daniel and Wentworth’s Allegra Spender.
That robocall asked if teal MPs receiving funding from Climate 200 made them less independent. Daniel at the time described the survey as “dirty tactics”. “I think it’s unethical, and I think it’s an affront to democracy, and I think it’s insulting to voters,” she said.
Teal sources familiar with the polls said Climate 200 was responsible. The organisation, which is funding dozens of teal campaigns including Daniel’s, declined to comment.
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Push polls targeting voters in Liberal frontbencher Dan Tehan’s Victorian seat of Wannon and his colleague Julian Leeser’s Sydney seat of Berowra have previously been reported.
Coalition campaign spokesman James Paterson said Daniel’s supporters were “push polling” voters with misleading questions.
“That’s not just hypocrisy – it’s cynical, desperate politics from someone who claimed to be better than this,” Paterson said. “If Zoe Daniel wants to talk about integrity, she should start by practising it.”
Polling company uComms, which deployed the poll for Climate 200, defended its surveys.
“All uComms polls are composed in accordance with guidelines set down by the Australian Polling Council (APC), of which uComms is a founding member,” the chief executive of its parent company, Logan Leatch, said in an email. “Under the APC guidelines, demographic and voter intention questions must be asked first to avoid bias.”
“UComms is dedicated to providing accurate results,” Leatch said.
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