State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell mistakenly issued letters of congratulations for becoming Australian citizens to an unknown number of people across the electorate.
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Megan Fisher
Australian-born Steve Beardon said he was sure it was a scam when he received an email congratulating him for recently becoming an Australian citizen.
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This, however, wasn’t the only letter of false congratulations received by a northern Victoria-dwelling Australian citizen, with reports across multiple mastheads of people experiencing the same situation.
The letter was issued by state Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell, who, as Wade Stephens for the ABC reported, intended to send the letter to 11 people who became Australian citizens in Indigo Shire on September 19.
Mr Beardon, who resides in Tocumwal in Moira Shire, said he was disappointed when he realised who the letter was from.
“I thought it was a scam email at the beginning,” he said.
“I assume the staff obviously made the mistake, which happens ... But, you’d hate to think confidential business dealings, or whatever the case, were being released unintentionally.”
Despite having been born in the country, Tocumwal resident Steve Beardon received a letter congratulating him for recently becoming an Australian citizen.
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Supplied
After sending out the letters on Wednesday, October 8, Ms Lovell was quick to issue an apology.
“My office is using a new communication package and unfortunately there was an administrative error that resulted in the letter going to a much larger group of recipients than the few it was intended for,” Ms Lovell said.
“I assure people there has not been a data breach and all personal information is safe.”
While acknowledging the humour in the situation, Mr Beardon said the incident called a wider concern into question.
“I was disappointed, I am disappointed, for people that got thanked for no reason because it’s a credibility issue for her now,” he said.
“Anybody who received the email is certainly going to be confused by her correspondence and maybe doubt her.”
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