The Herald Sun writes:
SMEARS AND SINNERS
by Alan Howe
POLICE seldom become involved in the political process, but they are rightly taking keen interest in events around the failed campaign by Les Twentyman for the Kororoit by-election.
Because of the margin by which Labor won, it is perhaps hard to see the Court of Disputed Returns agreeing that Labor's mischievous pamphlet saying a vote for Twentyman was a vote for the Liberals might have swayed the result.
And that's a shame, because had the result been closer, the devious pamphlet would almost certainly lead to the by-election result being annulled.
But the Electoral Commission might yet bring a prosecution against ALP figures on the basis that the pamphlet was designed to mislead voters - and the commission takes the issue of doing so quite seriously.
Already, Twentyman has obtained an intervention order against political blogger Andrew Landeryou, who published pictures of the youth worker's house on his website, along with detailed descriptions of the rooms inside, and even art on the walls.
There were also apparent threats of more revelations about the Twentyman house and his lifestyle.
Magistrate Noreen Toohey was obviously convinced Twentyman and his wife had a right to fear the ramifications of the publication of the pictures and she ordered the website not reveal the location of the house or Twentyman's wife's identity, and she ordered Landeryou not go within 200m of the place.
As it turns out, apparently Landeryou has never been inside the Twentyman marital home, but other state Labor figures have.
And if other information was to be supplied about it to Landeryou for publication on the controversial site, Victoria Police will be very interested.