Economist Saul Eslake received one of the letters at his home in Tasmania. Credit:Peter Mathew Many who have received the letters said the mail arrived within days of updating personal information on the electoral roll, though the Australian Electoral Commission insists there is no evidence its database has been compromised. The letters are personally addressed by "J Church" to each recipient in hand writing, sent through the mail with a stamp, and list a return address - which does not exist - in Brisbane. The Queensland Police Service had been investigating J Church after the first batch of hate letters were sent out earlier this year, but has since dropped the case in recent days. A two-line police statement concluded: "The matter has been investigated and no offence has been identified. There are no further investigations being undertaken."

The decision, however, came as a shock to Anne Margaret O'Connor, a Rockhampton resident who received one of the angry letters in March. She repeatedly tried to report it to police, but was told there was nothing to investigate. Ms O'Connor said the police response was unacceptable because hate letters need to be monitored and taken far more seriously as community tensions rise in the wake of the Sydney Lindt cafe siege and the Reclaim Australia protests. Hostage taker Man Haron Monis, for instance, had written hate mail for years before his cafe rampage. "This information is being distributed through our community and nobody seems to be monitoring it or doing anything about it," said Ms O'Connor, who ran as an independent candidate in the Queensland state election. "It's offensive, it's upsetting and inciting. We don't know if it's somebody like the guy in the Lindt cafe who's now got a list of all our names and addresses. We don't know what this person's intentions are." Bank of America Merrill Lynch chief economist Saul Eslake also received one of the letters at his home in Tasmania - only weeks after his family moved in. The letter was addressed to his wife.

While he doesn't share safety concerns with other letter recipients – "I have pretty thick skin," he says – he still suspects the sender pulled his new address from the electoral roll. "What makes me suspicious is that it arrived only after we had enrolled," he said. Since February, the racist letters have been mailed across Queensland, NSW, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. The letters appeared to have been initially sent to Greens candidates and the party's supporters, but have since targeted a wide variety of people. "I don't know how on earth he found my personal details," said Martin, a new father in Melbourne, who received a letter at his family home just before Easter. Martin, who didn't want his last name published due to safety concerns, said he has no public profile, no political or religious affiliations and uses an unlisted home address. "It's very concerning. Putting aside how he got my details, if you the look at the actual content of the letters, it's pretty hateful."

Queensland police declined to elaborate on its now-concluded investigation. A spokesman said it was "inappropriate to comment on investigative strategies." An interview request with the lead detective on the closed investigation was denied. Australian Electoral Commission spokesman Phil Diak said there was nothing more to say beyond a previous statement, which characterised those believing the electoral roll was misused as airing "unsubstantiated claims with no actual evidence". Under current laws, anyone can visit an electoral office to look up someone's address on the electoral database, but only to confirm its accuracy. Political parties also have access for mail-outs. Anyone with safety concerns, however, can apply to have their address removed from the roll and become a silent elector. Those who want to report receiving "J Church" hate letters can call the non-emergency police line on 131 444.

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