The same man, right, can be found in the Shutterstock collection under the keywords "two man look at snail race". Credit:Shutterstock The party said it makes "no apology" for using the stock photos after the fake supporter images were uncovered by the Tenants Union of NSW. "Our campaign, despite having thousands of members, and significant grass roots support, literally didn't have the funding to pay for professional photography of the people who made those testimonials," said its secretary Peter Jones, who blamed electoral funding changes introduced by the Baird government. The image used to represent Schembri can be found by the keywords "Senior businesswoman wearing black suit posing with crossed arms, isolated on white background" in Shutterstock. Credit:Shutterstock "The testimonies are genuine testimonies from people who are affected by land tax in NSW."

But Mr Jones cited "privacy regulations" when asked for proof that the identities were genuine. "However, I will contact the individuals to ask if they would mind getting in touch with you," he said. Mr Brown, who maintains an office in Balmain but actually lives in the Port Stephens suburb of Soldiers Point, contacted Fairfax Media on Thursday. "That doesn't look like me, no," he said of the "Mr Brown" appearing on the website. "Well, I hope not." A founding member of the party, who was "about the same age" with "maybe a little bit more hair" than his online alter ego, Mr Brown said he was not worried by the use of the image. "I've seen enough political ads to know that what you see sometimes isn't what you get," he said.

The party's president James Ruben, who like Mr Jones will be vying for an upper house seat in March, said the party would campaign on a platform calling for a restructuring of the property tax system. Mr Ruben also nominated extending private certification "specifically for driveways" as one way it would seek to reform to the NSW planning system. The party is yet to complete its preselections. As for the candidate images that typically grace party corflutes and how to vote cards: "We'll probably ask the people that are the candidates to donate those photos themselves," Mr Ruben said. "But have them professionally done."