AN offer to sell almost two dozen postal plebiscite forms has hit a Newcastle social media marketplace,
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The post, uploaded by an account int he name Hayley Mattiacci, was sent to the Newcastle Herald by numerous readers after it was posted to a buy, sell and swap page on social media.
“I’ve been collecting ballot papers from all my neighbours,” the original post states.
“I have 22 in total. I’m sure they didn’t want them anyway.”
The price is listed as $150, although it is unclear whether that is for all the survey forms or each individual one.
The post has since been removed and the account behind it rendered inaccessible.
Newcastle police duty officer Chief Inspector Trevor Shiels said the postal plebiscite had not been identified as a significant issue for the city’s police.
Do you know more? Email mcarr@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Fairfax Media has previously reported that statisticians have expressed concerns over the difficulty in policing who actually casts each vote in the postal plebiscite.
Australian Bureau of Statistics deputy statistician Jonathan Palmer told senators at an inquiry in August that the body was unable to stop people filling out others’ forms in the $122 million survey, and would rely heavily on voters flagging missing forms.
"It would be against the law to open someone else's mail. There would also be penalties around misleading the statistician," Mr Palmer said.
But he warned: "You can't guarantee against theft in a postal process."
Mr Palmer on Tuesday issued a statement urging voters to “do the right thing” and return wayward forms to the sender.
“It’s illegal to open others’ mail, unless you have their express permission as a trusted person,” he said.
“When a replacement form is issued, the previous form will be invalidated and if it has been received its response will not be counted.
“Stealing or tampering with mail is a criminal offence that carries serious penalties,” he said.
Potential penalties include a maximum $2100 fine or a year in prison. It is understood several online marketplaces have vowed to block or remove listings as they breach the sites’ policies.
Results of the postal plebiscite will be published on the ABS website on November 15.
Detailed information about the survey is available at marriagesurvey.abs.gov.au or by calling 1800 572 113.