Federal Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese, has encouraged Australians to call out the "cynical exercise" of campaigning that uses fear and marginalisation to win votes.
He told Victoria's JoyFM on Saturday that "the Republican playbook has been played out here very explicitly with people from the US coming here to assist on election campaigns" and that people, especially politicians, should know better.
"I'm not sure what's worse sometimes, people who are bigots or people who are not but choose to play that card for political advantage knowing that it's wrong," he said.
Mr Albanese said fear campaigning "certainly happened" in the South Australian election, and while he "wasn't sure" whether US campaigners were being used by the coalition in Victoria he was concerned about some of Matthew Guy's tactics.
"Some of the rhetoric aimed at scaring people into voting for them is, I think, pretty shameful and we need to be much much better than that," he said."
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Two organisations led by people of colour have been actively trying to combat racism in the Victorian election - GetUp's Colour Code, and independent group Democracy in Colour.
National director of Democracy in Colour, Tim Lo Surdo told AAP Mr Albanese's comments were great but "words without action are meaningless".
He condemned Daniel Andrews' proposed anti-association and punitive sentencing laws as "divisive" and said Labor should invest in "community not prisons".
Mr Lo Surdo said community organisations needed to step up advocacy work and also called for electoral commissions to do more.
"This type of politics puts our democracy at risk and there needs to be consequences," he said.
In a statement to AAP Colour Code senior campaigner Roj Amedi said "Encouraging fear and division serves no one other than the ones who spread it."
"Politicians must represent everyone - no matter the colour of their skin, or their religion," she said.
On an ABC News panel, Labor MP Pat Conroy accused Liberal MP Craig Kelly and "his mates" of "racist dog whistling" in the Victorian election.
"People in your party have been picking on particular ethnic groups and saying you should be scared of them," he said.
"It has been a disgraceful scare campaign and I'm confident the Victorian people will see through it."
Mr Kelly objected to Mr Conroy's accusations of racism.
