Dai Le, Amelia Hamer campaign posters defaced in key electorates as vandal attacks become sign of the times

A spate of vandalism has plagued MP candidates across party lines as tensions flare in hotly contested electorates around the country.

Dai Le is an independent candidate looking to retain her seat in Fowler, a key electorate in NSW’s Western Sydney battleground. Ms Lee won the seat in 2022 after ousting Labor, which had previously held the electorate since 1984.

Ms Le’s signage was defaced overnight by an unidentified woman who branded the MP as a “no good lady” affiliated with “Muslims” and “communist Vietnam”.

The woman ignored the protests of the person filming, who demanded her not to damage the sign in footage obtained by Sky News.

The woman then walks off with the damaged sign.

This wasn’t the first time Ms Le’s posters were defaced. In 2022, a vandal graffitied Ms Le’s posters in Cabramatta and described her as a “communist killer”.

Ms Le has spoken publicly about her family’s journey to Australia as refugees escaping communist forces in Vietnam.

“It’s a shame that some people resort to such tactics. Not only are they destroying property, but they are making a mess — I don’t want to see this in my community,” Ms Le said in a statement to NewsWire.

“But the most important thing is that I keep on concentrating on what really matters, and that is working for my community. People will make their own choices no matter what they do to my posters.”

Ms Le’s opponent Tu Le denied any links between the Labor Party and her rival’s damaged posters. She told Sky News her own posters and corflutes had been taken down during the campaign.

“I think it’s dangerous to provide blame in that way without any strong evidence. I would not have had anything to do with that or anyone that I know of in my team,” she said.

In 2022, Ms Le was considered a shoo-in for preselection for the seat, when Anthony Albanese parachuted in frontbencher Kristina Keneally, a former NSW premier, who suffered a humiliating defeat in the backlash. Liberal-turned-independent Dai Lee won the seat in a huge swing against the ALP.

Mr Albanese introduced Ms Le as the Labor candidate in a press conference in October last year, where there was no mention of the 2022 controversy.

Similar instances of sabotage have tainted the election race in Victoria’s leafy suburb of Kooyong.

A supporter of Amelia Hamer hung the Liberal candidate’s poster on their fence this week before it was defaced with the words “fascist”.

The homeowner later received a letter describing them as “Nazi scum”. It went on to say: “Your poster being defaced pales in comparison to you willingly supporting plunging people into poverty.”

Ms Hamer’s signage made headlines last month when footage of it being stolen went viral, with Peter Jordan, the husband of her Teal opponent, Monique Ryan, identified as the man seizing the material.

Dr Ryan and Mr Jordan both apologised after the footage went viral.

“I unreservedly apologise for removing the sign. It was a mistake,” Mr Jordan said in a statement.

“I believed the sign was illegally placed, but I should have reported my concerns to council.”

Dr Ryan said in the same statement:

“I apologise for the removal of the sign. It should not have happened.”

Ms Hamer, Dr Ryan and Tu Le’s offices have all been contacted by NewsWire for comment.