Candidates for the Liberal Party are accused of “plagging” ads from the successful state campaign of South Australia’s Labor leader, Peter Malinauskas.
When Malinauskas’ ad was released in January, it was very different from other ads. Assistant treasurer Michael Sukkar and Liberal candidate for Boothby in Adelaide Rachel Swift, are both accused of copying it for their federal election campaigns.
In a tweet, SA Labor said that Sukkar had been “caught almost word for word” plagiarising Malinauskas’ ad. The tweet, which was posted Thursday night, came with a video that showed about the first 25 seconds of each of the two ads side-by-side.
BREAKING NEWS: Liberal @MichaelSukkarMP caught plagiarising almost word for word SA Labor election ad. #auspol #vicpol #springst pic.twitter.com/1DtKBHCWwS
— SA Labor (@alpsa) April 14, 2022
In the scripts, they introduce the candidates as “husband and father of two or three children,” mention their sports and home hobbies, and then talk about their jobs as politicians.
In his ad, which was released on January 18, Malinauskas talked about how his family had an impact on his work ethic.
It is said that each generation in South Australia has profited from the efforts of the one before it. My grandparents fled war-torn Europe in the 40s in quest of a better life for our family. Simple Advertising made a video with him talking about how his parents instilled in him the importance of hard work.
This will be on TV from tomorrow, but I wanted to share it with you here first.
Our priorities aren't just for the next four years – but the next generation. pic.twitter.com/iBZxPWXhq9
— Peter Malinauskas (@PMalinauskasMP) January 18, 2022
Sukkar’s commercial, uploaded on Facebook on Wednesday, follows nearly precisely the same script: “I believe that every generation should benefit from the one before it. My father came to Australia from Lebanon for a better life. And he and my mum worked tirelessly to teach me and my siblings the value of hard work,” Sukkar stated in the video.
The writing patterns were also repeated in Rachel Swift’s commercial, also shared on Facebook on Wednesday.
Swift’s introduction employed a very similar language framework, concentrating instead on her past rather than her personal life: “Hi, I’m Rachel. Aside from being an expert in health care, I also run a small company here in town and give back to the people in my neighbourhood via volunteer work. In addition, I’m running for Boothby as a Liberal.
“My family has had a significant effect on me. Because of everything my family has been through, I’ve made it a priority to give back to the community whenever I can,” she says in the commercial.
All three advertisements included a Polaroid-style transition between a series of still images, including family photos, casual candids, and official advertising pictures.
In an interview with The Advertiser published on Friday, Malinauskas said that he rather the Liberals “support some of our initiatives for the future, rather than imitate our commercials”.
According to reports from Friday, Swift said she was “using all conceivable avenues to engage with Boothby voters,” however the singer did not react to a request for comment from the Guardian Australia.
Boothby is a target seat for Labor at this federal election, presently held by Liberal MP Nicolle Flint, who is retiring.
Michael Sukkar has also been asked for comment.
In South Australia’s March state election, Labor gained 7% of the vote and toppled Steven Marshall’s first-term Liberal government.
Labor’s campaign focused largely on state concerns like health and hospital capacity, with federal leader Anthony Albanese only making a handful of events.
In spite of this, federal Labor Party president Wayne Swan hailed the result as “a strong statement that Australians have had enough of Liberal administrations out of touch with their lives.”
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