By Jesse Graham
A YARRA Ranges Council election candidate will be pressing charges against a Facebook poster, after violent and abusive messages were posted about her online.
Chelsea McNab, who is running in the O’Shannassy Ward against incumbent councillor Jim Child, was notified by friends that a photo of her had been posted on an anti-Greens Facebook page.
The caption begins “Is this Victoria’s worst local council candidate?”, and goes on to criticise Ms McNab for her support of the Great Forest National Park (GFNP) campaign.
The topic has been divisive between timber industry and environment group representatives, who often clash over concerns for industry jobs against the critically endangered Leadbeater’s Possum in the Toolangi State Forest.
However, commenters on the post quickly started posting personal abuse towards Ms McNab, with two commenters saying she should be kicked and sent to the Middle East and decapitated.
One commenter also posted details of where Ms McNab lives.
Speaking to the Mail, Ms McNab said it was confronting to read the posts, and that they made her worried for her safety and that of her children.
She said she reported the post to Facebook, but was told the post did not breach the website’s community standards, and would be pressing charges through police.
“I feel like I don’t want to be in this situation,” Ms McNab said.
“When I signed up to be a councillor, the intention was genuinely for the good of the community and it wasn’t because I thought I’d take on war with the timber industry – because I do support a sustainable and small timber industry.
“I don’t know how someone could think it’s OK. I just don’t see how that’s OK – they might laugh about it, like it’s funny … it’s not funny to me, when you’re on the receiving end.”
Cr Child told the Mail that the commentary on the page was “absolutely outrageous”, and that he did not condone the comments against Ms McNab.
“I believe that local government elections should be about local government issues, and that’s all it should be about,” he said.
“It shouldn’t be about criticising fellow candidates – that should never happen, I would never engage in it.
“I just could not condone that behaviour at all – it’s just absolutely outrageous that people should be making those comments.”
Cr Child said he had been on the receiving end of online abuse and allegations in recent months, but that he did not respond to the posts at the time.
“I will not respond to that, and I never will,” he said.
Ms McNab said she expected to file charges with police on Friday 14 October.
