Watchdog pings racing channel for election blackout ads

A horseracing TV channel has caught the attention of media stewards for airing political ads for a candidate during race broadcasts.

The Racing.com free-to-air TV channel was found in breach of election advertising blackout rules when it aired 23 ads for Liberal Dan Tehan on the Thursday before the federal election on Saturday, May 3.

Broadcasters cannot air election ads on TV or radio during the blackout period between the Wednesday before the election and the close of polls.

The channel's licensee is Prime Television Victoria which is owned by the Seven Network, and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Mr Tehan.

Australian Communications and Media Authority member Carolyn Lidgerwood said the rules were a licence condition she expected broadcasters to understand their obligations.

The licensee reviewed its procedures to ensure similar actions would not happen again, the authority said.

Mr Tehan was fighting for his Victorian seat of Wannon against former radio host turned independent candidate Alex Dyson, who attracted more than $2 million in donations.

Mr Dyson was backed by Climate 200, with the progressive fundraising vehicle donating nearly $11 million to independent candidates ahead of the election.

Donations for political parties will be released in February.

There are concerns that coming changes to campaign finance rules, including caps on donations and how much can be spent in each seat, could affect independent candidates tackling misinformation and challenging major-party incumbents.

Independents say it is unfair that political parties have a $90 million national cap they can spread around the country with generic advertising that doesn't count within the electorate cap.

Donations from Climate 200, which does not run candidates but does help fund independents, will be capped at $50,000 a year per candidate when the campaign finance reforms start in mid-2026.

Climate 200 co-convenor Kate Hook said it was costly to tackle misinformation as candidates need to spend on digital advertising or mailout "to correct the record".

Misinformation on social media was a major problem at the election, News and Media Research Centre's Kieran McGuinness found.

Three in five of about 2000 people surveyed said they had come across political misinformation, with the most prominent topics being nuclear energy, cost of living, climate change and immigration.

Two-thirds said the source of the misinformation was from politicians and political parties.