Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC)
Our ref:7135

11 December 2000

Mr R. Hoser
PO Box 599
Doncaster VIC. 3108

Dear Mr Hoser,

Frankston East supplementary election held on 16 October 1999

I acknowledge receipt of your letter of 5 December 2000 in which you request that I investigate a number of events that you allege took place during the course of the Frankston East supplementary election.
Before I give further consideration to your request, I require from you further and better particulars with respect to the following matter:

• "An offer by someone from the Liberal side to pay me money to withdraw from the election as a candidate."

In particular, I require from you details of the name of the person from the "Liberal side" including the time and date when you allege this offer was made.
The following alleged events that you ask me to investigate are in my view, not offences under The Constitution Amendment Act 1958. The matters are:

• "Offers by both political parties to print how-to-vote cards for persons standing as Independents including myself.
• Allegations and/or a perception that a number of people standing as independent candidates for the by-election were in fact stooges of the major parties whose role was to deliberately confuse the electorate, split the potential independent vote and direct preferences to a major party (Liberal or Labor).
• Broadcasting of false and defamatory allegations against myself by radio announcer Steve Price on 3AW during the early part of the Frankston East campaign, including how and where he got hold of an incorrect (official) police record for myself.
• The invitation by 3AW to some candidates to participate in a debate with all other candidates in a live broadcast, when they had no intention of allowing such a debate to proceed and failed to invite myself to attend the broadcast."

You may wish to seek your own legal advice regarding any other actions you might consider in relation to these alleged events.
In order to further assist my consideration of whether to investigate the matters you have raised, it would be helpful if you could refer to those sections of The Constitution Act Amendment 1958 that you believe have been breached by any of the matters mentioned in your letter.
I also would appreciate your explanation of why you did not raise any of these matters with me during the course of the conduct of the Frankston East supplementary election, and why it is that you have raised these matters some fourteen months after the conduct of the Frankston East supplementary election.
Upon receipt of the above information, I will give further consideration to your letter of complaint.

Yours sincerely,

C.A. Barry

(Signature)

Electoral Commissioner
Level 3, 505 Little Collins Street, Melbourne Vic. 3000 Tel (03) 9651 6201 Fax (03) 9629 8632