Aussie PM Howard accused of spamming... again

Australian Prime Minister John Howard is in trouble for alleged spamming again - this time over the telephone.

Previously Howard ran into trouble after he sent out unsolicited campaign emails, this time he has been sending voice spam down voters' phone lines

"Hello, I'm John Howard," began the message. "I've taken the unusual step of contacting you with this recorded message to let you know we have recently announced what our first seven tasks will be if re-elected to office." He went on to encourage recipients to vote for their local Liberal candidate in the forthcoming elections.

However, whether the "step" taken is indeed "unusual", or just plain annoying or even illegal appears to be matter of some debate.

One recipient told Australia's ABC News that he was angry to receive the message, not just because he wasn't a Howard supporter, but because it had actually cost him to retrieve the message via a voicemail call.

According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald the messages also break campaign rules as set out in the Australian Electoral Act which state any campaign messages must be accompanied by the name and address of the authorising official. Howard's messages reportedly included neither.

Howard's Labor party rival, Mark Latham, called Howard's controversial campaign: "The most relentlessly dishonest and negative advertising campaign in the history of Australian politics," according to ABC News in Australia.

According to the Herald some voters claim Howard appears to have got hold of their number even though they have a 'silent number' - similar to ex-directory in the UK. Other keen-eyed recipients using caller ID have reportedly noticed Howard's campaign has been routing the calls via an overseas call centre facility.

The US presidential election has also seen an increase in political spam though little of it is directly attributable to official campaign groups.