Peter Walsh – Correction and Apology
4 July 2025
Correction and Apology
Farm Transparency Institute and Christopher Delforce
On 11 March 2025, I published a media release entitled “End Victoria’s group voting ticket farce demands Walsh” to launch a campaign to end group voting tickets in the Victorian Parliament’s Upper House.
In that media release, while making the point group voting tickets benefit fringe candidates with links to radical agendas, I described Farm Transparency Project (FTP) as a “known terrorist group”.
FTP and its director Christopher Delforce have alleged that the media release defamed them and caused serious harm to their reputations, including serious financial harm to FTP, by imputing FTP are a terrorist organisation and he and Mr Delforce are terrorists and/or violent and/or criminals.
I accept that the language I used in the media release was inappropriate. I did not intend to suggest that FTP and Mr Delforce are terrorists in the true sense of the word, in that they employ physical violence against other people to achieve their political gains. If anyone misunderstood me to be suggesting as much, I retract that suggestion and apologise for any hurt my use of that language may have caused.
I strongly disagree with many of FTP and Mr Delforce’s views and actions. However, I accept that they are animal rights activists who employ non-violent tactics, to advocate for an end to practices that they are passionate about. I also accept that it is their passion that drives conduct that I consider obnoxious. To the extent anyone understood me to be suggesting otherwise, I apologise to them for that suggestion.
I am also passionate about my constituents, including Northern Victoria’s agricultural industry and decent hardworking families like the Sinclairs. It was this passion that caused me to publish the media release.
I will continue to represent the interests of my constituents and campaign for more reflective voting practices, and I will not apologise for doing so. However, I will try to be more measured in my language in the future.
Media contact – Andrew Mole (03) 5482 2039 [email protected]