Glitter in GetUp’s letter to Liberal MP mistaken for suspicious powder
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Version 0 of 1. Police, bomb squads and hazardous material teams were called to investigate after a staff member of the Liberal backbencher Craig Laundy thought glitter in a letter about same-sex marriage might be suspicious powder. The staff member, who had recently had security training, picked up the MP’s post in western Sydney on Monday. Police were called in, then the New South Wales fire brigade, which called in hazmat teams. They, in turn, called the bomb squad. The letter had been part of a campaign on same-sex marriage organised by the advocacy group GetUp. Laundy took to Twitter to explain, saying the package had been unopened when the police were called but it “clearly had a powder-like substance inside”. To clarify the envelope was unopened but it clearly had a powder-like substance inside. The police dealt with the matter accordingly. On Monday, he used his official Facebook page to thank authorities for the mammoth response. “6 police cars, 6 fire trucks and 1 Hazmat unit,” he wrote. “The emergency response today when my staff found a suspicious package in our PO Box was tremendous.” He continued: “It has since been discovered that it was a stupid stunt by GetUp. I’m all for organisations making contact with me, but to send any undeclared substance through the mail to the office of a member of parliament will inevitably cause alarm and divert important police and emergency services from their critical work. Thank you to Burwood [local area command] – NSW Police Force for their outstanding effort in undertaking a professional response to a grossly irresponsible act.” GetUp issued an apology on Tuesday morning, insisting the letter had been sent through registered post and listed the organisation’s name as the sender. Related: Ship Your Enemies Glitter fooled us by shipping enemies glitter. Wait, what? “GetUp would like to express its regret for this misunderstanding and confusion,” a spokeswoman said. “We hope nobody was unduly concerned for an extended period by the glitter. “Obviously we regret any undue concern that this caused or any time wasted, as it was merely a way demonstrate our concern for an important issue.” The organisation sent the glitter letter to 98 other MPs and senators as part of its marriage equality campaign. The letter said supporters had bought glitter to celebrate same-sex marriages which they had hoped would be able to take place this year. “But your party (not the kind you buy glitter for) messed with our plans,” it said. “We’ve had to put those plans on hold – indefinitely by the looks of it, thanks to your party’s abject confusion on the issue. And we’re really not happy about it.” Last week the Coalition decided to deny its members a free vote on same-sex marriage, sticking to its current position. The prime minister, Tony Abbott, said the Coalition would give voters the right to have their say on the issue in a public poll that would take the form of either a plebiscite or a referendum. Opponents of same-sex marriage want the issue decided by a referendum, which has a higher benchmark for success owing to its requirement for a double majority – a majority of voters in the majority of states. Related: Same-sex marriage: Tony Abbott keeps referendum option open Neither a plebiscite nor a referendum is needed to change the Marriage Act, which now limits marriage to the union of a man and a woman. GetUp’s glitter letter campaign was brought forward to coincide with the introduction of a cross-party private member’s bill to change the definition of the Marriage Act so same-sex couples can wed. The Liberal backbencher Warren Entsch introduced the bill on Monday morning. “The main purpose of this bill is not a complex one – it is to give same-sex couples in Australia the same right to marry the person they love as that which is currently only granted by law to heterosexual couples,” he told the House of Representatives. “This bill is designed to promote an inclusive Australia, not a divided one. A divided nation is what we will be if we continue to allow discrimination in relation to marriage on the basis of a person’s sexuality.” |