The No Land Tax Party and its leader, Peter Jones, have been fined $80,890 for failing to pay staff who handed out how-to-vote cards in the 2015 NSW election.
Federal Circuit Court judge Tom Altobelli said the party's submission that its non-payment of the promised $30 an hour had little impact on the workers was "inconsistent with the evidence before the court from the workers themselves, and regrettably arrogant".
Mr Jones, who was secretary and lead Upper House candidate for the No Land Tax Party at the 2015 state poll, was fined $13,315 in the Federal Circuit Court. The party was fined $67,575.
The Fair Work Ombudsman took legal action against Mr Jones and the No Land Tax Party on behalf of 21 of the 3600 workers recruited to hand out how-to-vote cards for up to 10 hours on election day.
The workers, were short-changed a total of $6219, included teenagers, students and people who were unemployed. They were recruited after flyers were sent to homes around NSW seeking "outgoing and enthusiastic" people who would be paid $30 an hour.
The workers were assured they would be paid "regardless of what vote your local candidate obtains". Additional bonuses up to $500 were offered if candidates polled well.
Mr Jones gave evidence that the No Land Tax Party had relied on public funding to meet the wages. However, the funding was conditional on a candidate being elected to the NSW parliament. No party candidate was elected.
Mr Jones and the party submitted that the non-payment of workers was "a grave miscalculation that arose from blind optimism".
However, Judge Altobelli accepted the Fair Work Ombudsman's submission that the contraventions were deliberate.
"The difficulty for the respondents is that there is no evidence that satisfies the court that they had a legitimate and considered expectation of winning one or more seats in the NSW election on 28 March 2015," Judge Altobelli said.
"Moreover, even if they had won, on their own evidence (or lack thereof) they could not have reasonably satisfied the requirements for payment from the Election Campaign Fund due to lack of records."
Judge Altobelli found that Mr Jones and the party "do not appear to take full responsibility for their contraventions" and that there had been "limited demonstration of contrition or remorse".
He ordered the No Land Tax Party to audit entitlements owing to all workers it engaged on NSW election day in 2015 and to advise the Fair Work Ombudsman of the steps it would take to rectify identified underpayments.
Mr Jones submitted in court that the No Land Tax Party had no funds or assets.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said a key feature of the case was the court's dismissal of any notion that failing to pay employees any wages for short periods of work was not a serious matter.
"This case in particular displays a callous indifference to young and vulnerable employees who had every right to expect they would be paid for their work," she said.
