22-04-2025
Pamphlets attacking Allegra Spender for being 'weak' on antisemitism investigated
An unauthorised and anonymous pamphlet distributed in a Sydney electorate has accused independent MP Allegra Spender of being weak on antisemitism and attacked her stance on indefinite detention, ABC NEWS Verify can reveal.
The document, which runs for more than a dozen pages and which ABC NEWS Verify has seen, also attempts to link Ms Spender to the Labor government.
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has launched an urgent investigation into the distribution of about 47,000 pamphlets in the eastern Sydney electorate of Wentworth.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Ms Spender said the campaign was designed to undermine her and benefit her political opponents.
"This pamphlet spreads false, misleading and offensive claims about me and does so anonymously," Ms Spender said at a press conference.
The leaflet criticised Ms Spender's responses to antisemitic attacks.
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Supplied
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The bottom of each page of the pamphlet reads, "Produced by the people of Wentworth for the people of Wentworth", which puts the author of the pamphlet in breach of electoral law.
In Australia, political communications are required to be authorised and include the name and address of the entity and the name of the person responsible for the communication.
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"The AEC takes these matters very seriously and has worked quickly to identify and make contact [with] the entity responsible for these pamphlets," the AEC said in a statement.
"The AEC investigation is ongoing and it would not be appropriate to make any further comment at this stage."
ABC NEWS Verify has seen the digital version of the pamphlet and understands it has also been circulating in WhatsApp groups in recent weeks.
Who is behind the pamphlet?
The authors of the document remain unknown, but the digital version of the pamphlet carries a clue to the company behind its printing in its filename IVE01113_Dossier 16pp Quarto 210x275_V2.indd.
Photos of bundles of the pamphlet on the street show them sitting next to another bundle with the branding of printing and distribution company IVE.
ABC NEWS Verify has confirmed IVE Group was the company that printed the dossier.
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IVE Group
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ABC NEWS Verify has obtained a voicemail which appears to confirm the company as the printer of the documents.
In the voicemail, an employee of the company refers to the pamphlets and names another IVE employee. ABC NEWS Verify has confirmed both the person speaking and the person they named work for IVE Group.
ABC NEWS Verify does not suggest the company is the author of the pamphlet, only that it printed it.
The company has had links to the Liberal Party in the past.
Its former executive chair, Geoff Selig, who died in 2024, was a former president of the NSW Liberal Party, while the company has previously donated to the NSW branch of the Liberal Party.
ABC NEWS Verify asked the NSW Liberal Party whether it or Liberal candidate for Wentworth Ro Knox had any involvement in the production of the pamphlet. A spokesman responded that "everything we produce has our authorisation on it".
"We're running a properly authorised campaign and strongly believe it's important for all election material to have the appropriate authorisation," the spokesman said in a statement.
ABC NEWS Verify understands that the electoral commission has also been in contact with IVE Group as part of its investigation.
IVE Group was contacted for comment.
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