An inner-city Melbourne council is temporarily ordered not to take down any political signage in a key battleground seat just days out from the Victorian state election, as Labor accuses the group of interfering in the poll.
Court documents reveal that two of Ms Theophanous's billboards were ultimately destroyed, while the other six were found at the council's tip in Reservoir.
They have since been reinstalled at the same sites and on Tuesday, her lawyers successfully convinced Justice Tim Ginnane to make an order stopping Darebin council from interfering or removing the signs ahead of another Supreme Court hearing on Wednesday. "Subsequent to the theft, my campaign team installed some video cameras on some of our replaced signage and those signs were not removed," Ms Theophanous said.
"So it does beg the question, if council thought that they were in the right, why didn't they then subsequently remove them once the cameras were on them."The removal of the signs has incensed Victorian Labor, which has been trying to stave off Greens candidate Campbell Gome in the battleground seat.
Greens leader Samantha Ratnam knocked back suggestions that her party directed the council to remove the signs."When Labor gets desperate, they get dirty. From what I know of what's occurred, it's a matter for council and I urge all candidates and parties to abide by local laws.""These are misleading characterisations and comments that don't go into how local governments deliberate on these matters," she said.
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