Liberal MP says he was targeted by 'deceptive' anti-marriage equality 'push poll'

A Liberal MP, phoned by a robo-call claiming that same-sex marriage will lead to “radical gay sex education”, has labelled it push polling designed to “mislead and deceive” the Australian public.

The robo-poll from WPA Intelligence, a Republican-aligned research company in the United States, first appeared on Tuesday last week and is now the subject of a complaint by the Equality Campaign because it does not say who authorised it.

The call asks a series of neutral questions before re-testing support for same-sex marriage after the proposition it “may lead to negative consequences such as radical gay sex education being taught in school, threats to freedom of speech and freedom of religion”.

The Liberal MP, a supporter of same-sex marriage, said he received the call, which he described as a “push poll” because it “made ridiculous allegations that a change in the Marriage Act would lead to radical gay sex education”.

“It was clearly an effort to mislead and deceive the public,” he said. “It had no authorisation and didn’t disclose who was funding it ... I don’t think anyone would be surprised to see these deceptive phone calls aligning very closely to many of the no campaign messages.”

Claims that marriage equality will impact the gender education of children have been central to the no case, with the first Coalition for Marriage ad claiming schools will allow boys to wear dresses and compel students to roleplay same-sex relationships.

The Equality Campaign has reported the robo-call to the Australian Electoral Commission.

The Australian Market and Social Research Society has said the robo-poll “appears to be ‘push polling’ – an activity that attempts to impart information to individuals rather than collect information from individuals”.

The campaign director of the Equality Campaign, Tim Gartrell, said it had “taken the step of intervening because we believe, like AMSRS, this is push polling”.

“It fits the pattern of the no case, their advertising is 100% negative and they are clearly push polling. This is an imported American-style negative campaign.”

Under new safeguards passed by parliament last week, campaign material in the postal survey must be authorised. The Liberal MP said the US link to WPA Intelligence, which has worked for Republican senator Ted Cruz, was “probably an attempt to work around the rules”.

However, the act contains exemptions for the authorisation requirement for “an opinion poll or research relating to intentions of enrolled persons”.

An Omnipoll partner, Martin O’Shannessy, and the chief executive of Galaxy Research, David Briggs, have suggested it may be legitimate market research because it also tests a positive proposition about same-sex marriage that “denying some people the option to marry is discriminatory and creates a second class of citizens”.

Asked why he believed the robo-call was not legitimate research, Gartrell replied: “The pro [same-sex marriage] question is very soft and the anti question is very strong and very much aligned with [the no campaign’s] core negative message.”

O’Shannessy said the poll was “a bit light on one side, the yes vote side” but Briggs said it was “very unlikely to be push polling”.

“Asking biased or misleading questions isn’t necessarily push polling, especially in a small sample and we don’t know how many have been exposed to this message,” Briggs said.

The Coalition for Marriage refused to say if it is behind the calls or engage with the suggestion it may be push polling, responding in a statement that it “welcomes the in-depth coverage from both the Guardian and Buzzfeed on the process ... within the process ... within the process”.

Guardian Australia has contacted WPA Intelligence for comment.