The Greens have apologised to Beyond Blue and Alfred Health after a senior doctor’s work titles were used on a party campaign mail-out in Melbourne’s south-east without the clinician’s permission.
Nadia Chaves was briefed on the wording, but did not give approval for her positions at the hospital and mental health charity to be included at the top of the letter next to her photograph.
Steph Hodgins-May has apologised for the letter, which she says she did not know contained Dr Nadia Chaves’ titles. Credit:(Main) Wayne Taylor, (inset) Twitter
The senior physician complained to the Greens campaign in the federal seat of Macnamara, which takes in suburbs in Melbourne’s south and around the eastern shores of Port Phillip Bay, including Port Melbourne, Albert Park, South Melbourne, and St Kilda.
The candidate, Steph Hodgins-May, has since apologised to Chaves and the two organisations.
Alfred Health said it does not endorse political candidates. It is investigating how the letter came about and has referred the issue to the electoral commission for investigation.
“Preliminary inquiries indicate that the link between the staff member and the employer was made without consent,” a spokesman said.
Chaves referred to herself in the letter as a doctor who specialises in immigrant health and infectious diseases. She pointed to the need for more strong, independent women in Parliament as among her reasons for endorsing Hodgins-May.
“Unlike the old parties, Steph is not beholden to corporate donors driving the climate crisis, developers who want to destroy our suburbs for a quick buck or pressure from right-wing party members,” Chaves wrote.
“She will listen to our community, and vote for our values in Canberra.”
The letter listed her work titles as a C-19 Network clinical lead, Beyond Blue clinical governance committee member and Alfred Health internal medicine physician.
Hodgins-May said she did not know the letter, sent on Tuesday, would include Chaves’ titles and claimed the error was made by “a staffer who has been counselled regarding their actions”.
“This mistake is extremely disappointing, and I apologise unreservedly to Dr Chaves as well as the organisations she has worked with, the names of which appeared in the letterhead,” Hodgins-May said in a written statement.
“I take full responsibility for the fact that this letter was sent from my campaign. I am personally very sorry for the position we have placed Dr Chaves in.”
Liberal chair of the Macnamara federal electorate commission Jack Sullivan shared a copy of the letter on social media.
On Twitter, he questioned whether Chaves would be stepping down from her roles at Beyond Blue and The Alfred hospital after publicly endorsing the candidate, or whether that “humiliation” was reserved for Liberal supporters.
“[Alfred Health] are you aware that it’s your phone number on this [Greens] endorsed letter?”
Charities like Beyond Blue are prohibited from lending support to political parties in elections. However, while Chaves does consultancy work for Beyond Blue, she is not a permanent employee of the charity.
A Beyond Blue spokesman said the organisation had no prior knowledge of the existence of the letter, and clarified Chaves was not a staff member.
“Dr Chaves is a valued member of a group of experts that we consult for specialist advice about the safety and quality of our services and supports,” the spokesman said.
“The Greens candidate for Macnamara has issued a formal apology for the erroneous inclusion of Beyond Blue in a political mail-out and confirming that Dr Chaves did not approve the material.
“Beyond Blue understands the material has been withdrawn.”
The Greens’ blunder emerged in the same week that Guide Dogs Victoria chief executive Karen Hayes was stood down after she endorsed Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in a Liberal Party pamphlet.
Chaves has been contacted for comment.
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