Electoral commissioner clears Canberra Times ad
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The electoral commission received a small number of complaints about the ad. (ABC News)
ACT electoral commissioner Phil Green says he is satisfied that political advertising, which partially obscured the masthead of today's Canberra Times, does not breach electoral advertising rules.
The commission received a small number of complaints about the ALP-funded ad.
Some readers raised concerns that the ad constituted biased coverage while others complained that the statement of authorisation was not visible.
Commissioner Green says political advertising is required to carry an authorisation statement to prevent unattributed comment.
"The sticker was a new way of doing that," he said.
"On the back of the sticker there was an authorisation statement identifying who was responsible for the material, so it did comply with the Electoral Act.
"But every election I'm sure there are going to be new and different ways of getting their message out."
Commissioner Green says the paper discussed the advertisement with him prior to publication.
"The main purpose behind the requirement to authorise election material is to prevent irresponsibility through anonymity," he said.
"The idea that is when voters are reading material that might influence how they might vote on election day they know who it is who's responsible for the material that they're reading."
