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Title : Liberal candidate's bowls club post referred to auditor-general
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Liberal candidate's bowls club post referred to auditor-general

Federal Liberal candidate Georgina Downer is facing accusations of misleading voters over a social media post showing her handing a novelty cheque to a bowls club.

Key points:

• The post generated dozens of critical comments questioning why Ms Downer — and not the Member for Mayo — was presenting the money
• The money was a grant from the Australian Government under the taxpayer-funded Community Sport Infrastructure Program
• The Shadow Attorney-General questioned whether Ms Downer was abiding by the infrastructure program's guidelines

Labor has referred the post to the auditor-general and accused Ms Downer of "inappropriate" conduct and misusing a taxpayer-funded grant, but the candidate for Mayo insisted she had done nothing wrong.

On Friday, Ms Downer, the daughter of former foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer, posted a photo on her Facebook campaign page showing her handing over a novelty cheque for $127,373 to the Yankalilla Bowling Club south of Adelaide.

The post generated dozens of critical comments questioning why Ms Downer — and not independent Member for Mayo Rebekha Sharkie — was presenting taxpayers' money to a community group in the electorate.

Ms Sharkie said she had "never seen" such a stunt before, accusing Ms Downer of "misleading conduct".

"I have never seen a time when a preselected candidate outside an election campaign has handed over a cheque for taxpayer funds with that cheque carrying their image and their name," Ms Sharkie said.

Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has now referred the post to auditor-general Grant Hehir.

"The cheque purports to be issued by Ms Downer and the Liberal Party and bears Ms Downer's image and Liberal Party branding," Mr Dreyfus wrote in his letter.

"However, the $127,373 provided to the Yankalilla Bowling Club was not a gift from Ms Downer or the Liberal Party.

"It was in fact a grant from the Australian Government under the taxpayer-funded Community Sport Infrastructure Program."

'Obviously a novelty cheque'

Mr Dreyfus questioned whether Ms Downer was abiding by the infrastructure program's guidelines.

"I query how it is possible for Ms Downer, the unsuccessful candidate for the 2018 Mayo by-election and an unelected candidate for the upcoming federal election, to misuse a taxpayer-funded grant in this fashion," he said.

"It is completely inappropriate and unacceptable for Ms Downer and the Liberal Party to treat taxpayers' money as if it were their own, and to deceive Australians about the true source of this taxpayer-funded grant."

External Link: Antony Green tweet: For those who keep asking, I can't offer an opinion on the Downer cheque issue. Ask a lawyer is my suggestion. But there was a similar case in the state seat of Port Stephens in 1988. From my NSW election guide.

But Ms Downer defended her actions, saying there was no suggestion the cheque was "legal tender".

She said she wrote the bowling club a letter of support and was "absolutely thrilled" to hear its grant application had been successful.

"They asked if I would prepare for them a novelty cheque, which again I was delighted to do," she said.

"It's a novelty cheque, there was absolutely no-one in the room who thought it was legal tender."

"We had a joke about the fact it was clearly not legal tender. It's a grant from the Federal Government.

"They wanted a moment to celebrate, they wanted a moment to take their photo and I was very happy to support them in that. We had a glass of bubbles."

Education Minister Simon Birmingham also denied there was any wrongdoing, saying it was "pretty obviously a novelty cheque rather than an actual bank cheque".

"That type of self-promotional activity is what members and candidates do right across the country all the time," Senator Birmingham said.

"She's highlighting, quite rightly, commitments that our Government has made, and in this case, thanks to advocacy Georgina has pursued on behalf of her local community to secure local funding commitments."

Downer defends campaign video featuring 'Jim'

It was not the only campaign post of Ms Downer's to generate controversy in the past 24 hours, with a campaign ad targeting Labor tax policy facing accusations of being misleading.

The ad, which was also posted on Ms Downer's Facebook campaign page, begins with a man called "Jim" who is identified only as a "South Coast retiree".

Today, the Sydney Morning Herald revealed the man is in fact Jim Bonner — a long serving Liberal staffer and former state director of the party.

"Ex-Liberal spin doctor stars as 'Jim, 72, retiree' in anti-ALP campaign video," one person commented on Facebook.

But Ms Downer again defended the ad, saying Mr Bonner was a "retiree and long term resident of [the] south coast".

"Jim is like about 900,000 other people who will be adversely affected by Bill Shorten's retiree tax," Ms Downer said.

"He wanted to have his say."

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