The progressive activist group GetUp spent hundreds of thousands of dollars [1] on an anti-One Nation campaign during the Farrer by-election in New South Wales.
The spending highlights the intensifying battle between progressive organizers and right-wing parties in regional Australian politics. The scale of the investment suggests a strategic effort to curb the influence of One Nation through targeted advertising and public messaging.
GetUp aimed to oppose the policies of One Nation and prevent the party from gaining a foothold in the Farrer electorate [2]. The group's approach focused on highlighting the risks of One Nation's platform to voters in the region.
Critics of the campaign have described the strategy as an exercise in negative politicking. James Billot, editor of UnHerd, said the effort was scaremongering during an interview with Sky News Digital [1]. Billot compared the current strategy to a previous movement by GetUp that attempted to remove Tony Abbott from office seven years ago, which he said backfired [1].
Billot said that such high-spending campaigns often miss the mark by focusing on ideological battles rather than local needs. "There’s no point in trying to internationalise these very local elections where people just want bread and butter concerns taken care of," Billot said [1].
The campaign occurred as part of a broader effort by GetUp to limit the influence of One Nation across various electoral contests [2]. While the group viewed the spending as a necessary defense of progressive values, the resulting public scrutiny underscores a divide in how Australian voters perceive third-party political spending in local by-elections.
“GetUp spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on an anti-One Nation campaign”
The use of significant financial resources by a third-party activist group like GetUp to target a specific political party indicates a shift toward more aggressive, American-style campaign spending in Australian local elections. By focusing on 'scaremongering' or negative messaging, these groups attempt to sway undecided voters through risk-aversion rather than policy debate, which may further polarize regional electorates.
