A man clad in a balaclava and brandishing a machete terrorises a worker at a petrol station before firebombing the building on the way out. A woman gives birth on the side of the road, unable to reach a hospital due to ambulance ramping and crater-like potholes, which also stop a fire truck in its tracks. A flood of water – emblematic of Victoria’s “tsunami of debt”, forecast to hit $199bn in the next four years – gushes from the steps of state parliament, towards a scared child.
These are some of the AI-generated images being used as part of a social media advertising campaign attracting thousands of views less than 100 days out from the Victorian election. According to one expert, the ads, created by a group called Fix Victoria, cost up to $100,000 to publish in August, which is significantly more than most major parties and candidates spent. Another group, Better Victoria, is also spending big on short ads to pit Labor initiatives – such as the multibillion-dollar Suburban Rail Loop – against investment in roads, schools and hospitals.
But who is behind these groups and are they affiliated with a political party? Fix Victoria is run by experienced political operatives who held senior positions at a conservative thinktank, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA). It began plotting its ad campaign in May, when a group of like-minded people started recruiting paying members who could finance its operations and ads.
Corporate filings show it was registered with Asic in early August by Deborah Henderson, who was until June the deputy executive director of the IPA. Its communications director is Andrew Hudgson, who held a similar role at the IPA until earlier this year. Its head of advocacy is Gideon Rozner, who spent six years at the IPA before working at an investment firm.
Fix Victoria is a separate entity to the IPA and its staff say it is coincidence that three of them previously worked at the thinktank, which is a long-term critic of Labor governments. In November, Rozner told his social media followers that he was rejoining the Liberal party to support its new leader, Jess Wilson. When asked by Guardian Australia whether he is still a member of the Liberal party, Rozner declines to answer but says: “I’ve been around for a long time – and my views and affiliations are well-known.” Rozner says Fix Victoria is an “issues-driven, not politics-driven” organisation that wants to “ensure our leaders know that everyday Victorians want a plan to get out of the mess we are currently in”.
These three issues happen to be key talking points of opposition parties. A loophole in Victoria’s electoral laws means voters may never know who is ultimately funding these ads. Groups publishing political ads during campaigns don’t need to be registered as third-party campaigners unless they specifically promote or oppose a party or a candidate.
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