A Liberal party candidate has been slammed by the public after a mobile billboard with her face drove past an ANZAC service.
Stephanie Asher, who is a candidate for the seat of Corangamite in Victoria’s south west, had a campaign billboard mounted to a truck which drove past an Anzac Day service in the town of Drysdale several times on Monday.
A Liberal party candidate has been slammed by the public after a billboard with her face was ‘disrespectfully’ showcased during an Anzac Day service
Footage shows the moment the billboard is seen moving past a crowd as a speech is being read out about the ANZACs.
The crowd were silent and paying their respects to those in the Australian armed forces, as the mobile billboard drove past.
Local resident Brendan Tenson, who filmed the incident, told the Advertiser that he was at the ‘Cenotaph at 10:30am’ and saw the ‘van’ with the billboard drive past the crowd on at least three separate occasions.
‘You could see the driver visibly looked over and saw all of us,’ he recalled. ‘Then did a U-ey and came back the other way and went even slower, then did another lap out.’
‘The people close to me were shaking their heads. I thought it was distasteful for what we were doing.
‘If he had have just driven up and driven off, it probably would have been nothing, but the fact he did it three times is a bit s**t. They would have known what was going on,’ he added.
Tenson posted the video to a Facebook group, where many viewers criticised the move as ‘disgusting,’ a ‘low act’ and completely ‘disrespectful’ to our troops.
Stephanie Asher (pictured), who is a candidate for the seat of Corangamite in Victoria’s south west, had a campaign billboard mounted to a truck which drove past an Anzac Day service in the town of Drysdale several times on Monday
Asher (right) issued a short statement through a spokesperson later that day following public outrage, claiming the incident was a ‘mistake’. (Pictured with Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson)
Stephanie Asher issued a short statement through a spokesperson later that day, claiming the incident was a ‘mistake’.
‘The driver of a rental truck hired as part of my campaign was unaware his regular route would pass by today’s ANZAC service in Drysdale. He left the vicinity without stopping,’ the statement read.
‘Nonetheless, we acknowledge the inappropriateness of the truck’s presence and apologise unreservedly.’
‘The truck advertising was not done with my knowledge today. I am so sorry it occurred.’
Asher attended several Anzac Day services on the day at nearby Torquay, Barwon Heads, Portarlington and Ocean Grove.
Source: DailyMail
