- Woman in remote Aboriginal community accused of tampering with SSM votes
- Police received report of vote tampering at post office in Gunbalanya, NT
- She is alleged to have filled out multiple survey forms under other names
- Police are aware of the alleged incident, which can lead to five years in prison
A woman post office worker has been accused of tampering with same-sex marriage votes, filling out multiple forms under other people’s names.
Police received a report that a woman in Gunbalanya, a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory, was allegedly seen opening envelopes and filling out ‘multiple’ postal plebiscite forms.
An NT Police spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia they were aware of the alleged incident but had not received a formal complaint from the ‘victim’, and could not begin an investigation until someone comes forward.
Police received a report that a woman in Gunbalanya in the Northern Territory was allegedly seen opening envelopes and filling out ‘multiple’ forms (stock image)
Federal MP Warren Snowdon received a complaint about the woman, and said it was proof the postal plebiscite could be ‘rorted and manipulated’
An Australia Post spokeswoman said the woman was not an employee of theirs and directed enquiries to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
An ABS spokesman said they have investigated the incident and have ‘found no evidence of fraud’.
Federal MP Warren Snowdon received a complaint about the woman, and said it was proof the postal plebiscite could be ‘rorted and manipulated’, according to the ABC.
West Arnhem Regional Council is in charge of the post office on behalf of Australia Post, and chief executive Brian Highlands said he was ‘shocked’ at the allegations.
A person convicted with tampering with someone else’s mail can be punished with up to five years in prison (stock image)
Mr Highlands understood that the manager of the post office ‘gave some mail out to a lady and that contained some of those letters for the same-sex marriage survey, and this lady started opening them in the post office and filling them in’.
Someone saw the woman allegedly filling them out and called the police, according to Mr Highlands.
A person convicted with tampering with someone else’s mail can be punished with up to five years in prison.
Mr Snowdon said the alleged incident was a ‘prime example of what can happen in such a ridiculously stupid exercise’.