A conservative activist group has been threatened with legal action after it used images of some of Australia’s most prominent female swimmers in an advertising campaign against the inclusion of trans women in sport.
Swimming Australia chief executive Eugenie Buckley said Swimming Australia condemns the lobby group Advance for its use of the swimmers’ imagery in the ads. The sporting body says Advance did not seek permission to use the images, and if it had, permission would have been denied.
The billboards, which were stationed at multiple locations in Sydney over the weekend, feature images of Olympic swimmers Emma McKeon and Emily Seebohm and swimming legend Dawn Fraser, as well as former Olympian and current independent MP Zali Steggall.
The advertisement feature the phrase “women’s sport is not for men”, with Steggall’s image featured with a speech bubble that says: “That’s transphobic”.
It comes after the Liberal candidate for Warringah Katherine Deves attracted widespread criticism for her transphobic comments and social media posts.
“Swimming Australia strongly condemns the use of imagery of our athletes, past and present, by the Advance Australia party in recent political advertising,” Buckley said in a statement.
“Consent to use the imagery was never sought prior to its publication, neither from Swimming Australia nor the individuals involved. For clarity, if it was sought it, would have been categorically denied.
“Swimming Australia does not endorse this, or any message, from the Advance Australia party. Swimming Australia has issued a legal notice to the Advance Australia party and expects the imagery to be removed from circulation immediately.
“Swimming Australia believes in a competitive environment that is inclusive, fair and equitable for all athletes at the same time. Ultimately, all Australians deserve to feel welcome, safe, valued and celebrated in swimming.”
Seebohm has criticised the use of her image “as part of a political agenda” without her consent.
Stegall posted an image of one of the billboards to Twitter, pointing out that Australia does not have any laws to ensure there is truth in political advertising. Steggall has previously proposed legislation to prevent the spreading of misinformation in advertising during federal election campaigns.
“Right wing activist group Advance Australia are up to their usual misleading dirt. But do they have consent/approval by @AUSOlympicTeam @SwimmingAus @DawnFraserSolar for this? Is this why @ScottMorrisonMP doesn’t want Truth in Political Advertising laws?”
Advance, formerly known as Advance Australia, has strongly supported Deves’ candidacy for Warringah, and has previously targeted Warringah MP Zali Steggall with negative ads.
The group campaigned against Steggall in 2019, creating the ‘superhero’ mascot called Captain Getup that sexualised Steggall by rubbing up against images of her.
Advance has indicated it will not remove its current billboards of female swimmers, despite requests from Swimming Australia. The Australian Olympic Committee is also expected to send a legal letter to Advance.