Australian elections have a number of proud traditions, such as democracy sausages, Akubra hats, and the presence of hardworking “tradies” in campaign ads. Continuing this tradition in Victoria, a young man in an orange hi-vis vest and hard hat appears in a campaign video for former Liberal MP Tim Wilson. The man is also part of Wilson’s campaign to regain the seat of Goldstein, which was won by teal independent Zoe Daniel in 2022. In the paid ad, which is running on Instagram and Facebook, Wilson talks about his goal of “fighting for home ownership.” The clip shows the pair in conversation outside a construction site.

While the man’s resemblance to a member of the Liberal Goldstein campaign, Frazer Hurst, has been noted on social media, Wilson referred all questions about the man’s role to the Coalition’s campaign headquarters. Hurst’s LinkedIn account says he is a student and involved with the Liberal party in Victoria. The Wilson campaign has paid up to $800 for the video as well as a shorter version to be promoted online.

This brings to mind past controversies surrounding the use of “fake tradies” in election campaign advertisements, including the appearance of Sydney metalworker Andrew MacRae in a 2016 Liberal party election campaign advertisement. MacRae ended up in the clip because he had done tradesman work at the advertising agency that put the project together. In 2022, clips promoting Victorian Liberal David Southwick also featured voters who turned out to work for the MP.

Wilson won Liberal preselection for the bayside seat of Goldstein against two female challengers and will face off for the second time against Zoe Daniel.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/apr/03/tim-wilson-campaign-ad-tradie-liberal-party-frazer-hurst-questions-ntwnfb