Anthony Albanese has hit back at right-wing advocacy group Advance as they target the Prime Minister with ferocious attack ads.
Advance, who spearheaded the No campaign against the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, have set their sights on delivering a further blow to Mr Albanese in the by-election for the Melbourne seat of Dunkley.
On Thursday the lobby group took out a visually striking full-page ad in Melbourne tabloid the Herald Sun that featured an image of a grumpy looking Mr Albanese and directly accused him of letting loose ‘rapists, paedophiles and murderers’.
‘Albo, you unlocked the doors of immigration detention and let loose 149 criminals,’ the ad states in bold red, black and white colours.
The full-page newspaper ad taken out by right-wing advocacy group Advance to sway voters in the Dunkley by-election
‘You paid for lawyers to argue for their release.’
The ad refers to a High Court ruling in November that found the n government’s indefinite detention of refugees was unlawful because it gave politicians powers reserved for the courts.
As a result, 149 asylum seekers in indefinite detention – deemed too dangerous to be on the streets and with no other country to be deported to – have been released.
‘Tell us, Prime Minister how many in Dunkley? We demand you tell us before March 2,’ the ad concludes referring to the by-election date,’ the ad continues.
Around 24 of the detainees freed have been charged with fresh crimes since being let out.
Asked about the Advance ad on Melbourne radio station 3AW on Thursday Mr Albanese accused Advance of fearmongering and spreading misinformation.
‘I think people will have a look at that ad, which is designed to frighten and scare people, and see it for what it is,’ Mr Albanese told Melbourne radio station 3AW.
‘Our top priority is keeping ns safe. ns know that this was a decision of the High Court of and governments must obey the law.
‘It’s unfortunate because I don’t want to see go down the American road, where there’s so much polarisation.
‘We can have disagreements about issues, but we should always try to be respectful, try to talk through the facts, rather than just have a fear campaign.’
Advance defended the ad.
‘It’s both pathetic and frustrating that any sort of scrutiny of Anthony Albanese’s decisions are met with accusations of “misinformation”,’ a spokesperson told Daily Mail on Thursday.
‘His Labor government authorised and paid for lawyers to argue for the release of these dangerous criminals from immigration detention. This is a fact.’
‘We know that there are 40 on the loose in Victoria. This is also a fact.
‘The idea ns are not allowed to ask how many are living in their suburb is just ridiculous.’
Albanese government Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus, gave his OK for the taxpayer funded n Human Rights Commission to join a legal case in the High Court that indefinite immigration detention is unlawful.
Documents show that on June 5, Dreyfus approved this, as long as it was clear the Commission was acting on its own, not behalf of the government.
The Advance ad has been condemned by asylum seeker advocates.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured with fiancee Jodie Haydon) says the Advance ad targeting him is a an example of American-style polarising politics
‘This is in the Herald Sun today paid for by Advance . White supremacy is very much alive and well in ,’ Asylum Seeker Resource Centre CEO Kon Karapanagiotis said.
n Multicultural Council member and former Socceroo Craig Foster accused the of ‘plumbing new depths’ that ‘shouldn’t happen in a multicultural country,’ he said.
Melbourne-based marketing and communications guru Adam Ferrier said political attack ads are on the rise because they work.
‘The human brain has what is called a negativity bias, which means we pay more attention to negative stimuli than positive stimuli,’ he told Daily Mail on Thursday.
‘Donald Trump has taught us you can say anything and as long as it gets attention it works.
n Multicultural Council member and former Socceroo Craig Foster accused the Advance ad of ‘plumbing new depths’
Marketing and comms guru Adam Ferrier said negative political advertising is on the rise because it works
Advance, who changed their name from Advance in May, were reported to have $200,000 to splash in Dunkley out of the $5.1m in donations the group received last year.
The group used this war chest to resource the No campaign for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament referendum, which won a resounding victory in the October 14 referendum seeing over 60 per cent of voters reject the Indigenous body.
Advance was formed by former Liberal staffer Gerard Benedet in 2018 as a counter to the left-wing group GetUp! and have copied their electoral strategy of not advocating for a party but running negative ads against their political opponents.
This Voice No vote newspaper ad that was run in Thursday’s n Financial Review has attracted criticism it has a racist depiction of Yes23 activist Thomas Mayo