The posters, pasted onto walls in four separate locations in Manly, feature a cartoon of Mr Abbott’s head with either "Pell" or the word "c---" written across his forehead. Mr Abbott had described Cardinal George Pell as a "fine man" after child sexual abuse charges were laid against Pell. Mr Abbott also called Pell following the public release of his guilty verdict. 2GB listeners reported seeing the posters on Spit Road both before and after the Spit Bridge, in Seaforth and Mosman. Offensive Tony Abbott signs have been spotted around Sydney's northern suburbs. One poster was plastered to the wall of a day-care centre in Seaforth. The owner of the centre told the radio station staff were "in tears" after receiving abusive phone calls from Abbott supporters accusing the centre of allowing the posters to be displayed.

"We have nothing to do with it," said Rita, who called the posters "disgraceful". Police are seeking assistance from two men captured on CCTV. Credit:NSW Police "It’s a very dirty campaign but just keep innocent people out of it." On Twitter, Ms Steggall said her team had an "extensive code of conduct" and would not engage in such behaviour. "They are under strict instructions not to engage in negative behaviour, as I have been the subject of a non-stop smear campaign from Mr Abbott and his supporters and do not condone that type of politics," she said.

"I strongly reject any allegation that the posters have anything to do with my campaign or my volunteers, and call upon anyone suggesting that it does to provide evidence." Sydney artist Scott Marsh, who has depicted controversial images of Tony Abbott in murals in the past, posted a photo to social media on Thursday showing police investigating the posters. He captioned the photo "The mean streets of Mosman #crimetime #2088lyf #watchoutforthoselabradoodles". A Facebook post by Sydney artist Scott Marsh showing police investigating offensive posters of Tony Abbott in Manly. Credit:Facebook On Thursday morning, Mr Abbott said the posters were part of "a new nastiness in Australian politics".