With the Federal election due to be called imminently, independent Senate candidate for the ACT, David Pocock, is calling for clean and fair political campaigning across the board.
Maintaining his platform of trust, integrity and leadership, David has vowed to do politics differently.
“We are already seeing false and misleading campaign advertising being rolled out,” David said.
“These dishonest, cheap political attack ads only serve to further add to people’s existing distrust and frustration with politics.
“This is exactly why we need federal truth in political advertising laws and a federal anti-corruption watchdog with real power and political donations reform.
“That’s a big part of why I am running - because people don’t just want to see politics done differently, they want to see it done better.
“What you will get with me is someone who stands up for the people I am elected to represent. Clearly the idea of genuine representation and being accountable to the people they represent is seen as a threat in some quarters.”
David confirmed that he was registering a complaint with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) with regard to the Advance Australia ads.
“I’m calling on my fellow candidates in the ACT and beyond to run their campaigns through a lens of integrity.
“The people of Canberra, and indeed the country, are tired of lies, finger-pointing and blame for political gain. They want leaders who are honest, trustworthy and transparent.
“Smear campaigning against other candidates, the spread of misleading information and lies, unnecessary intimidation, ambush and bullying tactics are seen all too often come election time.
“These techniques are damaging to our democracy, taking attention away from what it is we’re all working towards - better representation in government.
“My team and I have been working hard to have conversations with as many Canberrans as we can to ensure the voices of the community and the issues they’re facing are informing my policy positions.
“We are in the community every single day listening. I want them to know they’re being heard and that I will fight for the issues being felt by everyday Australians.”
A study by the Australia Institute found six in seven Australians want parliament to pass a federal truth in political advertising laws. If voted in, David will work to try and ensure such legislation is enacted before Australians return to the polls after the forthcoming election.
“Millions upon millions of dollars are spent by the major parties on political advertising with name-calling, finger pointing and flat out lies being the flavour. Quite frankly, it stinks. It’s a blatant and dirty attempt to win over voters with scare tactics. We shouldn’t allow fear to decide elections - it should be about ideas and the future we can build together.”