Federal election candidate wins court battle against Melbourne council over signage

Federal independent candidate Zoe Daniel has won a Supreme Court battle against a Melbourne council over the issue of her campaign signs being displayed in Melbourne's Bayside.

Zoe Daniel is running as an independent in the federal seat of Goldstein in south-east Melbourne, which Liberal MP Tim Wilson currently holds.

Election signs for Ms Daniel began being displayed on private properties in the Bayside area prior to February 8, after her campaign team confirmed election signage did not require a planning permit from Bayside City Council.

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However, after receiving complaints about the signage, Bayside City Council took issue with the election signs, claiming that they did need planning permits because the election date is yet to be set.

The area's planning policy states that only political signs tied to an event can be displayed without a permit.

The council claimed that the signs were therefore unauthorised seeing as the event, the election, had not been called.

On February 8 the council ruled that the signs could not be displayed until the election date was set.

The council then hand delivered letters to residents who were displaying Ms Daniel's signs several weeks later, asking the residents to remove the signs within two days or face fines.

Ms Daniel's campaign manager Keith Badger then took Bayside City Council to Victoria's Supreme Court, where Judge John Dixon today ruled the election signs being on display ahead of an election date being called did not contavene the local planning policy.

Mr Badger said the campaign team was "delighted" with the ruling.

"The law said we should be able to have our signs up.. and the judge backed that resoundingly," he said.

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Ms Daniels has said, "I'm just happy to have clarity... it was really just a legal point for me."

Bayside City Council has since released a statement online "welcoming" the clarity provided by the ruling.

"In line with the Supreme Court decision, residents who were previously notified that their signage was unlawful are advised that it is now permissible to display political signage," the council has confirmed.

The council will have to foot the bill for the legal matter, which has been estimated to up to about $90,000.