Election season is hotting up and a prominent trade union is betting on an early double dissolution election in July, after receiving an unexpected package in the mail -- 1000 corflute signs for Victorian Liberal MP Sarah Henderson.
The Electrical Trades Union's Geelong branch took delivery of 1000 election signs for their local member for Corangamite, Sarah Henderson, on Wednesday. Troy Knight, branch organiser for the Victorian ETU, said couriers had dropped off the eight packages to their office.
"The receptionist signed and I went in to open them up, and realised they were Sarah Henderson's," he told The Huffington Post Australia.
"I presumed they were ours."
A quick Google Maps search shows the Geelong ETU's office is not exactly close to Henderson's -- it's a 20 minute drive, eight kilometres away on the other side of town. Knight said he was baffled as to how they arrived at the union office accidentally.
While holding the signs hostage could have been a campaigning tactic, he said the signs had since been returned safely to their rightful owner.
"They've got them back now," he assured us.
Henderson herself has responded to the error, claiming the packages weren't addressed to the union but thanked them for the publicity.
But while the case of mistaken delivery is a bit of fun, Knight and the ETU think it hints at something more serious. While questions linger over whether Australia will have a July election, or a national poll at some point later in the year, Knight says the delivery of the signs all but locks in an early election.
"Without a doubt. Why would they order that many, if they were not going to have a July election?" he said.
The passage or failure of the Australian Building and Construction Commission bills will determine whether Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull asks for parliament to be dissolved and an early election to be called.
Parliament resumes next week to debate the bills. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: This may be the reason the signs were delivered to the union rather than to Henderson.