A No campaigner who was spat at by a Yes supporter has shared new footage after claiming he was attacked by another activist shortly afterwards.
Andrew Thaler was at a Yes campaign event in Cooma, south-east NSW, when he was filmed being spat at by Voice supporter and ANU emeritus professor Denise Ferris on September 17.
Mr Thaler then claimed he was attacked by another campaigner immediately afterwards, with footage of the altercation coming to light on Monday.
Footage shows a man allegedly punching Mr Thaler near a Yes tent before Ms Ferris walks up and takes a swipe at the No campaigner’s phone.
Mr. Thaler, a well-known activist, has courted controversy over the past year. He was branded a ‘parasite’ by 2GB presenter Ben Fordham after claiming he was speaking on behalf of the family whose grandmother, Clare Nowland, 95, was fatally tasered at a Cooma nursing home on May 17.
He has also run for political office at various levels of government and pleaded guilty in 2022 to intimidating a national fire brigade employee four years earlier. He avoided conviction.
New footage has emerged after a No campaigner was spat at by a Yes supporter before claiming he was attacked by another activist
In a video taken by Mr Thaler at the Yes event, the man can be seen pressing his face close to the camera.
The incident occurred after Mr Thaler was spat at by Professor Ferris, with the No campaigner demanding to know the name of the woman who followed the act.
“So, what’s this bitch’s name? Someone tell me? I came by to take a picture of your lambs,” Mr. Thaler said.
The man in the video confronts the No campaigner.
“Hey, fuck off. F***wit, fuck off,” he said.
“No, I stand by my position,” Mr. Thaler replied. “Stop pushing against me.”
The video shows the man waving his arm at Mr Thaler, who holds up his right arm in an attempt to fend him off.
“One meter,” Mr. Thaler said. “Do it again.”
On camera you hear a woman begging the man.
Andrew Thaler was at a Yes campaign event in Cooma, south-east NSW, when he was filmed being spat at by Voice supporter and ANU emeritus professor Denise Ferris on September 17.
“One meter, give me her name,” Mr. Thaler repeated.
Prof. Ferris is seen in the footage punching Mr Thaler’s right hand and causing him to drop the phone.
Mr Thaler told Daily Mail Australia he tried to restrain the arm with one arm as he filmed the altercation.
“I tried to make him move back three feet with my right arm, while my left hand held the phone,” he said.
‘Other Yes people walked around me and around me. One of them even went to my wife.’
“And then some of our supporters came over.”
Professor Ferris can be heard on the footage saying she would call the police.
Mr. Thaler encourages her by saying that she just spit on him.
“I didn’t do that,” said Professor Ferris.
“It’s on video, you stupid idiot,” Mr. Thaler replied.
Mr Thaler (pictured) has accused police of delaying investigation into clashes with Yes campaigners
Mr. Thaler has said he was previously confronted by Professor Ferris as he walked to the Labor Party’s Ja23 tent to take a photo of zoo lambs being petted at lunchtime during a monthly market held in the park.
“I was just about to take a picture of the lambs,” Mr. Thaler said.
“They used that to attract the kids and bring the parents along. It was a cheap stunt, but the lambs were in the sun all day.’
In the video, Mr. Thaler can be heard calling Professor Ferris a “stupid mole” before seeing her spit on the lens.
Professor Ferris has claimed that the argument had nothing to do with the Voice and that she felt targeted by Mr Thaler, which sent her into a panicked state of ‘fight or flight’.
She claimed she was merely trying to “block” Mr. Thaler’s camera “without engaging in physical contact.”
‘I didn’t spit on him. “I wanted to block his camera without making physical contact,” she said. Flight? Should I turn my back on him? Definitely not too scared of his actions, it was so traumatic.”
Mr Thaler accused NSW Police of dragging their feet over the incident.
A NSW Police spokesperson said “an investigation is ongoing” and there are “no updates we can provide”.
Professor Denise Ferris (pictured) has denied spitting on Thaler and said she acted out of ‘fight or flight panic’