Have you seen some of this fake union material?

Dear ,

If you receive any mail that looks anything like the image to the right - pretending to be non-ALP and blatantly supporting the incumbent Labor member - can you photograph it with your phone and email it to me graham.young@aip.asn.au?

I want to keep a track of Labor's sleazy third party campaign using their union surrogates to do what they can't do themselves under the spending caps.

The way Queensland's electoral funding laws have been gerrymandered gives Labor and the Unions (really the same thing) a huge financial head start. By capping expenditure for everyone they prevent the LNP and other non-Labor parties, bringing their real financial strength to bear, and it weaponises the unions and some fellow travellers. The political party can spend $158,000 all-up in an electorate while the 17 unions (keeps growing, the Transport Workers Union has now joined the ruck) can spend $90,000 each.

While there are non-Labor third parties, the law is tailored to the Labor unions - there are a lot of them, and they don't even have to fundraise, they can take their campaign right out of the pockets of workers.

So two unions negate the whole of the LNP's spend, and another couple probably obliterate Katter or One Nation, assuming they are standing and spending. And there is plenty more where that came from.

You don't get shonkier than the image above. They're in camouflage - purple rather than red - and it looks like the piece is directly from the local member. If you're foolish enough you'll even give them your email address, not realising you've volunteered to be bombarded by pro-Labor electoral material..

They can't even bear to authorise it under their own union name but are using the front organisation "Coalition of Working Families". Only those in the know would pick A Scott as Alex Scott, the secretary of the Together Union which represents public servants.

This is going to be a long election and Labor will throw all it has at it. We've been campaigning for fair electoral laws for a long time, and any evidence you can get me of what Labor is doing on the ground can only help.

Regards,

GRAHAM YOUNG
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR