Statement by Councillor Adrian McRae in response to attacks by the Australian Media after his trip to Moscow.

Having run as a Candidate for Durack in the 2022 Federal Election and having worked as a scrutineer in other Aussie Federal Elections and Referendums, I am fascinated by any opportunity to see how other countries run their elections. In early January, at a lunch with the Russian ambassador in Australia I expressed interest in offering my availability and curiosity to be a part of a very large delegation of International Observers for the 2024 Presidential Election. As you know, our own media and Government continually tell us that Russia has neither freedom, nor democracy. And with global heightened tensions, it is the responsible thing to do to firstly, seek the truth, and to secondly, try all in my humble capacity, to mend International relationships between our respective countries. Fortunately, soon thereafter, I was sent an Official Foreign Observer Invitation by the Russian Council of Federation. Over 2000 Foreign Observers came to Russia from over 170 countries. And most were very high level diplomats, past and present members of Parliament & US Congress as well as journalists and International Human Rights Lawyers. I even met the longest serving Commander of the International Space Station, Cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev from Kazakhstan. For the record, I had to pay every travel, accommodation and meal cost for my trip and, as such, Channel 7 blatantly lied about this fact on Thursday's 6pm news. The election process itself in Russia is easily the most transparent and professionally managed election system I have ever personally witnessed. I am embarrassed to say, Russia even leaves our own system in its wake. For the crime of publicly congratulating Putin during my 5 minute speech, the Australian media has decided to crucify me for merely telling the truth. In the words of Julian Assange, "If wars can be started by lies, peace can be created with truth".