AEC throws out Gazette complaint
The Australian Electoral Commission has dismissed a complaint against local news startup Gazette brought by a Liberal Party senator who claimed the publisher breached political advertising rules.
In a statement, the AEC said it had examined Gazette’s output and noted that “electoral matter is defined by the Electoral Act to exclude the reporting of news”, clearly implying Gazette local mastheads met the definition of genuine editorial content.
Senator Jane Hume, who is the shadow finance minister, lodged the complaint earlier this month, describing the Gazette as “a highly sophisticated domestic disinformation campaign”.
However, the AEC did not agree that the organisation breached political advertising rules.
Even if the various Gazette publications are very pro-teal, that would make them no more partisan than most major Australian newspapers.