Socialist Alliance members in Geelong have been victims of a vicious, post-election smear campaign. Federal police are investigating a Facebook page that called for the assassination of PM-elect Tony Abbott.
The creator of the page has not been identified, but they claimed an association with the Geelong branch of the Socialist Alliance and appeared to be posting from Geelong Trades Hall, where Socialist Alliance has its office.
Socialist Alliance’s Lisa Gleeson received a death threat on the organisation’s phone on September 9. The caller abused Gleeson, comparing the Socialist Alliance to Nazis and threatened to kill her.
She immediately reported the call to police. “I got the most abusive spiel topped off with, ‘I’ll effing kill you, you slut’,” she said.
Gleeson said the Socialist Alliance was not responsible for the page or its contents. “We would never advocate assassinations or violence — much less create a site with those intentions.”
Geelong Trades Hall Council secretary Tim Gooden said the Trades Hall office had also received threats.
“I got a message abusing us for putting [the page] on Facebook. Someone is trying to implicate this building, this organisation and/or the Socialist Alliance with a view to getting us all in trouble with the coppers and the wider community.”