The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has given the green light to anyone that wants to display signs for or against the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Kiama Councillor Mark Croxford raised concerns this week that displaying signs relating to an election or referendum before a voting date had been set contravened the NSW State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP). 

The policy states that election signs can only be displayed eight weeks preceding election day, the day of the election, and one week immediately following election day.

However, The Bugle was informed by the AEC that there were no laws preventing people from displaying campaign activities for a referendum at any time, and that the SEPP only applies to elections.

"...there is no law that says campaigning activities have to occur only during the referendum period. The Referendum Act actually doesn't limit the amount, the format or the timing of referendum communication," according to an AEC spokesperson.

Councillor Croxford acknowledged that the initial advice he relied upon was invalid, but questioned why the rules for election campaign material don’t apply to elections.

“This raises critical questions about the need for a robust regulatory framework to govern the display of referendum signs within NSW. The State Environment Planning Policy Subdivision 13 Election Signs was established for a reason.”

“Should not the same rationale and reasoning applied to federal, state, and local government elections be equally applied to referendums?”

Councillor Croxford has written to NSW Premier Chris Minns urging him to intervene on what he called “open-slather placement of referendum signs across NSW.”

“We are already witnessing the uncontrolled display of referendum signs across NSW, but with no date set for The Voice referendum, we have no idea how long they will remain in place.”

“The Premier must urgently address the ineffectiveness of the current situation and demand an immediate, ironclad system to quash this unbridled ‘open slather’ scenario.”

Kiama Mayor Neil Reilly has attempted to separate himself and Kiama Council from Councillor Croxford’s views.

“Only the Mayor and CEO are able to act as official spokespeople for Kiama Council, and it is only the Mayor or CEO who can delegate a Councillor or staff member to be quoted in an official press release or interview,“ said Mayor Reilly.

“When councillors put out their own press releases, Council is not always provided copies or the opportunity to correct facts. This can create misinformation and confusion, as has occurred in the case of the press releases on referendum signage being put out by this individual Councillor.“

Kiama Council resolved at its ordinary meeting in July to officially support the Voice to Parliament, with Councillor Croxford the only member to vote against the motion. During the meeting, Councillor Croxford proposed an amendment to the motion that Kiama Council should take a neutral stance instead, but this was shot down as it was considered to be against the original motion.

The Indigenous Voice to Parliament seeks to establish an advisory committee to the Federal Government to advise on issues affecting First Nations Australians. The Federal Government is yet to set a date for the referendum vote, but it is expected to occur sometime in October this year.