Take them down: Council directs candidates to remove signs from trees

With the federal election just weeks away, signage is popping up all over the Calare electorate, however, not all of it complies with current legislation.

The council's communications and community engagement manager Nick Redmond said Orange City Council has received a number of complaints about campaign posters being attached to roadside trees.

"Electoral law is quite clear in NSW that campaign offices are not allowed to attach posters to trees and buildings on community land," Mr Redmond said.

"Orange City Council has received a number of complaints from the community and has been in touch with campaign offices to ask them to remove the posters from trees in the Orange area. Council staff have also removed posters.

"Candidates should know what the rules are and should make it clear to their volunteers that trees are out of bounds."

However, he said posters can be erected on private land with the permission of the owner.

A spokesman from Cabonne Council said that council has not received any complaints as of yet.

"If we were to receive any we would advise people to contact the candidate's team directly or to contact the AEC," he said.

Bathurst Regional Council also wrote to election candidates after receiving a large number of complaints, particularly relating to the placement of signs on trees.

Sitting member, Andrew Gee, whose signs have been nailed to trees across the city put the breach down to young campaign workers.

"We've got a lot of young, enthusiastic campaign workers out there, but we'll work with the council on that issue and meet any concerns that they have," he said.

One Nation candidate Stacey Whittaker said she will take signage down if requested. She said she has received letters before and followed their direction, but said "the trees will heal."

"We're not putting them in with screws, we're putting them in with nails that aren't going to cause too much damage. Trees get taken out by bushfires and they regenerate. They're very good.

"We ensure that when we remove our signs that we remove the nail with it as well and our signage will be down a week after the election," she said.

"People ignore the rule anyway. We took our signage down after the first letter we received, which was from Mid Western Council.

"All my signage came down and then a day later another candidate's signage went up on all the trees and they're still there. They would have received the same letter I received."

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