Political posters paint thousands of words

In the wake of conjecture that Labor candidates are removing the party’s brand name from election posters, local candidates are carefully constructing their image in the eyes of voters.

Labor MP for Sydney Tanya Plibersek said her team had not yet put together the posters for her campaign but had decided on the layout and the message to be conveyed.

“In the 2013 election I will keep the purple I have always used, although I will be producing new campaign posters closer to the election itself,” said Ms Plibersek.

“The choice that Sydney voters face is clear, between a Labor Government which creates jobs and builds a fairer society and a Tony Abbott Government which will cut to the bone.”

It has been widely reported that few Labor candidates in NSW will use the Labor brand on their election posters.

Labor party branding was conspicuously absent from pamphlets distributed by Federal Education Minister and Member for Kingsford Smith Peter Garrett in April.

Mr Garrett subsequently denied trying to distance himself from the party.

Liberal candidate for Sydney Sean O’Connor said his signage would strongly portray the Liberals as the stronger alternative at the upcoming election.

“Our posters are about showing the people of Sydney there is a better option than the current member [Tanya Plibersek] who is part of this dysfunctional Gillard Labor Government,” he said.

“Every day people are saying the same thing to me; they are sick of Labor’s broken promises. They want a government they can be proud of which will get the budget back in surplus, support small business and create new jobs.”

The issue of political posters is also looming large in the neighbouring electorate of Grayndler.

Liberal candidate for Grayndler Cedric Spencer said his posters showed the importance the Liberal Party placed on the seat of Grayndler.

“People stop me in the street to say they are concerned that cost of living pressures are making it hard to balance their household budget; that they are concerned about the ability of local businesses to succeed and support jobs,” he said.

Greens candidate for Grayndler Hall Greenland said his signage would best represent the views of the people of Grayndler.

“The purpose will be to represent the views and aspirations of the majority of voters in Grayndler, the most progressive electorate in Australia, something [current Member for Grayndler] Anthony [Albanese] hasn’t done and Cedric can’t,” he said.

“I’ll be representing the importance of education, social justice and the economy in my campaign. I’ll be an approachable, dependable and experienced voice for Grayndler.”