Police have removed two offensive and homophobic banners targeting Labor MP Julian Hill that were hung over a major Melbourne highway on Friday morning.
The banners prompted bi-partisan condemnation and were described by Victoria police as an example of “hate-based behaviour” that would not be tolerated.
On Friday afternoon, police confirmed the discovery of further offensive banners in nearby areas but did not comment on their content.
One of several signs hung in Hill’s electorate of Bruce, in the city’s south-east, stated: “Julian Hill MP – more worried about his husband than his constituents.”
The ad, which contained a rainbow flag, did not appear to include an official campaign endorsement, which would reveal who was behind the message. The banner was also attached to public property.
Another sign said: “LGBTQ+ means more to Julian Hill than you the people.”
Hill is a gay man who is in a relationship but does not have a husband. He said whoever had displayed the signs had resorted to “these sorts of smears as they’ve got nothing positive to say”.
“I always have and always will stand up for everyone in the Bruce electorate, no matter their faith, ethnicity or who they are,” Hill said.
It is not known who put up the banners.
Anna Brown, the chief executive of Australia’s peak LGBTQ+ lobby group, Equality Australia, condemned the banners.
“This anonymous attack should be denounced by all sides of politics and called out for what it is – cowardly and homophobic,” Brown said.
“Imagine if this was an attack on another politician’s partner or kids and you immediately understand just how disgraceful and vile these personal and pointless insults are.”
“I cannot imagine a world in which a straight politician is attacked for caring about their partner and family,” Greens MP and LGBTIQA+ spokesperson Stephen Bates told Guardian Australia.
“The vast majority of Australians support LGBTIQA+ people. Whoever put up this banner should be embarrassed at how out of touch they are.”
Speaking on Friday afternoon, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, said he had seen images of the banners, and condemned them.
“Our families are off-limits, so I thought it was disgraceful,” Dutton said.
The Coalition’s campaign spokesperson, James Paterson, said the posters “have no place in Australian politics”.
“Whoever is responsible must be identified and prosecuted for these appalling posters,” he said.
The Liberal party referred the signs to the Australian Electoral Commission for consideration on Friday morning, when party leaders became aware of them.
In a statement, Victoria police said it responded to reports that “two offensive banners had been hung on an overpass bridge in Dandenong”.
“Officers attended Hemmings Park bridge overpass, which runs over Princes Highway, and processed the scene, with the banners removed,” a spokesperson said.
“Following that, police have been advised of further incidents where banners have been displayed in various places including Casey and Cardinia local government areas.
“There is absolutely no place for hate-based behaviour in our society and police will not tolerate such activity.
“Investigations into this incident remain ongoing.”
The former Liberal independent councillor for the Greater Dandenong Council, Tim Dark, shared a photo of the banner referencing Hill’s non-existent husband on Facebook, writing: “It’s rare to see accurate political advertising these days but there you go”.
Dark stood by the comments when contacted by Guardian Australia. When asked whether he considered the banners to be “hate-based behaviour”, Dark said he “did not have a position”.
“I don’t think this is something that particularly targets a specific person or anything like that,” Dark said.
Dark did not directly answer a question about how that was possible, given the image of the banner he shared included the name and face of Hill and referenced his partner. He instead referred to “many different smear campaigns” in the region “from all different parties”.
A Liberal source said the party did not endorse Dark, who said he had not been a member of the Liberal Party for many years.
Homophobic political messaging has featured in election campaigns before, with flyers in 2016 claiming homosexuality was a “death curse” and that voting for Labor was a vote for “radical gay sex education”, in a reference to the Safe Schools program.
It reached its peak during the 2017 same-sex marriage postal survey, where posters with homophobic slogans, including “stop the fags”, were reported around Australia, as Australians voted on whether to allow same-sex marriage.
Hill’s electorate went against the majority of the country, with 53.1% of Bruce saying no to the proposal. In his speech on the bill to legalise same-sex marriage, Hill said he loved his electorate and community, and was proud to serve and represent a diverse community.
After Australia approved the change, and parliament passed the law at the end of 2017, much of the focus of such messaging shifted to trans rights in Australia.
