Bogut, who isn’t affiliated with any political party, received a warning letter from the Victorian Electoral Commission because the post didn’t carry an authorisation statement.Comedian Dave Hughes, who routinely posts about politics to his 600,000 Twitter followers, said the matter set a dangerous precedent.“It was a very strange letter. I’ve never received one,” he said.“It appears almost everyone who posts a politically skewed message on social media from now on should receive a letter. The VEC will need more staff.“The freedom to scrutinise Govt’s, whether they be state or federal, should be fiercely protected by all free thinkers.”Footballer Campbell Brown has been outspoken on his social media but has not received a letter.He applauded Bogut for speaking out.“I think what he’s doing is great, at least he’s holding people accountable,” said Hawks premiership player Brown.“What the Government has done during this pandemic has ruffled some feathers. The public deserves honesty and transparency which we’re not getting.“I wish there were more people doing it, but they don’t for fear of the ramifications. (Bogut) is one of the brave few and people respect him for it.“The public should be able to say what they want.”According to its 2020-21 Annual Report the VEC investigated 51 cases relating to the authorisation or distribution of electoral material.None appeared to be complaints about individuals that had shared content related to voting at an election like the one Bogut was warned about.In a submission to the Victorian Parliament’s Inquiry into the Impact of Social Media on Elections and Electoral Administration, the VEC called for tougher authorisation statement laws for political advertisements on social media.“A key issue is that the boundary between advertising and political comment is often blurred on social media – therefore, the VEC’s approach is to require material considered to be advertising to include an authorisation statement or a link to an authorisation.In its final report, published in September, the committee called for an overhaul of the Electoral Act to make clear that authorisation statements were not required for personal political comment on social media.The committee’s deputy chair, Liberal MP Bev McArthur, said the VEC’s warning to Bogut was “very wrong”.“I support the basic principle that electoral material should be authorised by named parties, but the VEC’s interpretation of this case is way off the mark,” she said.“The VEC’s action against Mr Bogut was clearly motivated by this intention, but they need to exercise far better judgment than this.”Rock star Brian Mannix was confronted with eight police officers at his home in early December, the morning after tweeting a tongue in cheek picture of a plastic gun to his head with complimentary words about Premier Daniel Andrews.Previously he had been critical of the Premier.“Clearly I’m not the only one on the Daniel Andrews media monitors hit list,’’ Mannix said.“They thought it was a real weapon, I said I’m making movies at home and it’s plastic and I was meaning I’d need a gun to my head to write that.“I ended up signing a diversion order. The police were great and were doing their job, they were very professional. I believe the Daniel Andrews media monitors made it happen because they’re doing their best to stifle free speech.“If you’re going to be a public figure, people are going to hang shit on you. Whether it’s right or wrong it’s freedom of speech. What’s happening to Bogut is real China stuff.“That’s why I’m moving to Queensland because we’ve turned into a communist state.”In a statement issued this week electoral commissioner Warwick Gately rejected claims Bogut had been indiscriminately targeted.“If a person publishes that opinion and it is intended or likely to affect how a person votes in an election, it must be properly authorised,” he said.
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