A family’s front fence was set on fire last week amid a string of attacks on state election posters across Moorabool and Melton.
Election posters have been the target of attacks since the state election campaign kicked off.
The Nationals candidate for Buninyong, Sonia Smith, said she was concerned when a family home in Ballarat was targeted last week in what she described as an “arson attack”.
A couple awoke at 3.30am on Thursday, November 6, to find their front fence, where the election poster was mounted, on fire.
Ms Smith’s eyes on the poster illustration had been gouged out.
The owner of the property sustained burns to his hands, an arm and thigh while attempting to put the fire out.
Ms Smith said if the home owner hadn’t needed to use the bathroom, he may not have noticed the fire and it could have spread.
“It’s awful . . . the fence is only a few metres from their bedroom window,” she said.
“If they hadn’t woken up, the house could have burnt.”
Ms Smith said her main concern was for the family’s safety, but she also expressed concerns for community safety in the electorate.
She said it was a “real concern” that people were setting fire to property in the middle of the night and getting away with it.
“[Your home] is meant to be your refuge and your kingdom,” Ms Smith said. “Having scribble or pornography [on posters] is one thing, but having your house attacked is another.”
Ms Smith, a first-time election candidate and a new mother, said she wasn’t concerned for herself but for the family involved and for her own family.
“I’m trying to do something for the community . . . to create a better community and a better world and to make my son proud of me.”
The fire follows a vandalism incident in September when Ms Smith’s posters were tagged with pornographic drawings.
Vandals have also defaced the signs of the Liberal and Labor candidates in Melton.
Last Wednesday, Liberal candidate Daryl Lang pulled down a sign mounted near the Reserve Road skate park, which had obscene comments plastered over it.
“It’s unfortunate, but I guess that’s part of [being in the political sphere],” he said.
“But it’s reaffirmed that at least someone’s paying attention to those signs.”
Vandals also attached vinyl moustaches to Mr Lang’s and Labor candidate Don Nardella’s signs.
“I suspect that’s part of the Movember movement,” Mr Lang said.
He said he wouldn’t be growing a moustache but would donate money to someone who was.
