THE heat is rising among candidates in the Nepean by-election with the Liberal Party releasing two flyers: one attacking One Nation and the other Independent for Mornington Peninsula endorsed candidate Tracee Hutchison.
The Hutchison flyer asks the question “Jacinta Allan’s secret Nepean candidate?”, pointing out that the independent candidate considered running for pre-selection for Labor in 2019. The flyer also contains a quote from The Age from 2007 where Hutchison said “… our flag has become a participant in something that could easily be mistaken for a white supremacist movement”, a reference to an Instagram post from 2023 where Hutchison referred to Australia Day as “Survival Day”, and a claim that Hutchison “mostly lived in Melbourne’s Western Suburbs”.
Tracee Hutchison told The News “Lazy and dishonest attacks are exactly why I am running – people want better representation. If the best the Liberal Party can do is dredge up a 2007 opinion piece calling for unity and pride in our flag, question my allyship with First Nations people, and force me to disclose my recent divorce and property settlement, it only underlines their desperation”.
“I have no affiliation with the Labor Party beyond brief discussions in 2019 about standing in Flinders to hold the then Health Minister, Greg Hunt, to account for failing to secure investment to rebuild Rosebud Hospital – the number one reason I am running now in Nepean. I have owned my home in Rosebud for 25 years, I am a long‑term Mornington Peninsula ratepayer, deeply involved in this community, self‑funding my campaign and focused on delivering for this community.”
The One Nation flyer had on one side “At this by-election, a vote for One Nation helps keep Labor in power in November”, while the inside included the words “With out-of-control crime and debt, we need people with the experience to provide real solutions”.
The flyer asked if One Nation had ever build a hospital, built a road, led a state, delivered a budget or made a government program work, with crosses against each item.
One Nation candidate Darren Hercus told The News “I think the Liberal Party’s recent distribution of the State Directors endorsed flyer in One Nation colours ridiculing One Nation is an act of desperation by the party”.
“And the claim that a ‘vote for One Nation helps keep Labor in power in November’ is ironic considering the Liberal’s lack of consistent policy, leadership, continual factional infighting, and inability to make the Labor party accountable over the last 10 years is what has kept the Labor Party in power.”
In response to questions about the flyer, Marsh told The News “At this by-election, there is a clear choice between Jess Wilson’s team with a strong local plan for our community, or others who can talk about change but can never actually deliver it”.
“That’s why this by-election is so important, and I’ll be out every single day talking to locals about our local plan to rebuild Rosebud Hospital, fix local potholes, help the homeless, and reduce local crime.”
First published in the Mornington News – 14 April 2026
