Liberal candidate for Kooyong Amelia Hamer accuses Monique Ryan of releasing 'dirt file' on her

Australia Broadcast Center

22-04-2025

On the streets of Toorak, Armadale and Malvern in Melbourne, the talk of the town is who will win the seat of Kooyong – independent Dr Monique Ryan or her young Liberal opponent Amelia Hamer.
For the first time the well-heeled voters of these affluent suburbs will be part of the Kooyong electorate following a redistribution of the boundaries after the seat of Higgins was abolished.
The margin is tight between Dr Ryan and Ms Hamer – 2.2 per cent to be exact – and the campaigns have been awash with allegations of misdeeds and dirty tactics.
Ms Hamer has accused Dr Ryan and her team of putting together a "dirt file" on her.
Liberal candidate for Kooyong, Amelia Hamer, has accused Monique Ryan's team of putting together a dirt file on her.
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That included information about the grand-niece of former Victorian premier Rupert Hamer being the
"Let's be very clear, the way people found out was because of Monique Ryan's volunteers," Ms Hamer told 7.30.
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Monique Ryan's team put together a dirt file and put that on the internet and so I just want to make that clear.
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Dr Ryan did not deny the existence of the dirt file, telling 7.30, "I have over 3,000 volunteers supporting my campaign and I do not control what they choose to post on their personal social media accounts.
"As I understand, this information is publicly available online."
Ms Hamer is also a landlord who owns properties in London and Canberra, and that information, uncovered by The Age, contradicted her own comments that the 31-year-old identified as a renter.
Dr Ryan's husband was also caught

Dr Ryan, not for the first time, has described the incident as a "mistake".
'Look, my husband made a mistake, and it was an error that, you know, we both apologised for straight away," Ms Ryan told 7.30.
"It was unfortunate and we're really sorry that it happened."
Senator speaks up
Liberal Senator Jane Hume has been on the campaign trail with Kooyong candidate Amelia Hamer.
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While the battle between the two candidates has been filled with tension, another politician loomed large when 7.30 spoke to Ms Hamer.
Flanked by Senator Jane Hume at a local park in Balwyn North, Ms Hamer told 7.30 the senator was only there for "support".
Ms Hamer's campaign has faced questions, including why she announced on social media she would preference the Libertarian Party.
Ms Hamer told 7.30 it is because they are "a reasonable party".
"We allocate the preferences according to the parties that, you know, we think that the order should be."
Amelia Hamer is the grand-niece of former Victorian premier Rupert Hamer.
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The Libertarian Party's policies include abolishing renewable energy targets, publicly funded childcare and the education department.
The Victorian Libertarian's senate candidate, Jordan Dittloff, spent more than two years in prison after defrauding 47 victims — but having a criminal history does not disqualify people from running for or even being elected to parliament.
When asked about Mr Dittloff, Ms Hamer said, "Look, I don't have any comment."
When pressed on her justification for preferencing the Libertarian Party, Senator Hume spoke up on behalf of Ms Hamer.
Libertarian Party candidate Jordan Dittloff spent two years in prison.
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"Preference deals are a decision for the division and they make them right around the country at the same time. It's not something that's done necessarily on a seat-by-seat basis," Senator Hume said.
Senator Hume went on to describe Dr Monique Ryan's views as "extreme".
'Monique Ryan votes with the Greens 77 per cent of the time and then denies that she votes with the Greens 77 per cent of the time,' Senator Hume said.
Green, teal or true independent?
Dr Ryan shocked the Liberal Party when she defeated former treasurer Josh Frydenberg in 2022.
Now the Liberal Party's main allegation against her is that she is a Greens candidate in disguise.
It was a claim she denied when 7.30 met with Dr Ryan at her campaign headquarters in Hawthorn East.
'Look, in this term of parliament the Greens have put up 37 motions to a vote in the house and I voted for them on 26 occasions out of 37," Dr Ryan said.
"That's not very many."
Monique Ryan says she is still supported by Climate 200 but that it's "not actually that much".
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In 2022 she was part of a teal wave of independents elected to federal parliament which included Zoe Daniel and Allegra Spender.
The teal description is not something Dr Ryan agrees with, instead describing herself as a "true" independent, saying there is no such thing as a teal.
'It's something that the media has come up with ... and I kind of get where it comes from, you know, of a certain sort of politician, but there is no party. There's no formal organisation,' she said.
Monique Ryan, second from left, was part of the wave of "teal" independents that swept into parliament last election.
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The teal independents were widely funded by Climate 200. The candidates campaigned on climate policies and integrity in politics at the 2022 election.
Dr Ryan said she's still supported by Climate 200 but said it's "not actually that much".
When asked about this election she couldn't name her current biggest financial backer.
"I've had a few individuals who have been quite generous with their financial support," she said.
"I believe [I've] had more than 2,000 individual donors.'
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