Australians sizzle on election day with 'democracy sausage' and 'budgy smugglers', World News
SYDNEY - Australians fired up barbecues and wore tight-fit swim trunks called "budgy smugglers" to voting centres as they welcomed election day on Saturday (May 3) with some unique and quirky traditions.
Voters across the country grabbed a "democracy sausage", which is sausages, burgers or other barbecued meat sold by volunteers at polling booths, as they turned out to cast their ballots.
This Australian election day ritual was a talking point on social media as voters posted pictures and videos with their snack in hand under the #democracysausage.
"Voted and did my civic duty of buying a #democracysausage," one voter said on social media platform X.
Meanwhile, at polling booths near Australia's famed beaches, including Bondi beach in Sydney, some swimmers cast their ballots after a dip wearing brief-style swimming trunks locally called "budgy smugglers".
An Australian swim wear brand called Budgy Smuggler ran a campaign offering a free pair to the first 200 people who voted in smugglers.
Voting began on Saturday in Australia's national election that polls show will likely favour Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over conservative challenger Peter Dutton, with voter appetite for change dampened by worries over US tariffs and global economic uncertainty.
[[nid:717623]]
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Trump sends 700 Marines to quell immigration protests in Los Angeles
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he has contacted the US administration after an Australian journalist was shot in the leg with a rubber bullet while covering the immigration protests in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, a convoy of buses transporting about 700 Marines has departed for Los Angeles. US President Donald Trump earlier doubled the number of National Guard troops in the city, on top of the 2,000 he deployed over the weekend. Clashes between demonstrators and federal military forces have entered their fourth day. Nick Harper reports from Washington DC.
CNA
8 hours ago
- CNA
Australian PM blasts targeting of journalist in LA unrest
SYDNEY: Australia's prime minister on Tuesday (Jun 10) denounced the "horrific" shooting of a rubber bullet at an Australian television reporter covering unrest in Los Angeles. Australian 9News reporter Lauren Tomasi was hit in the leg by a rubber bullet on Sunday while reporting on live television. Her employer said she was sore but unharmed. "She is going ok. She is pretty resilient, I have got to say, but that footage was horrific," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters after speaking to Tomasi. Albanese said the reporter could reasonably have expected not to be "targeted" with a rubber bullet while doing her job in Los Angeles. The footage showed she was "clearly identified" as a member of the media, with "no ambiguity", he said.
Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Straits Times
Australia has stabilising role amid rising global division, says PM Albanese
FILE PHOTO: Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reacts as he speaks at a Labor party election night event, after local media projected the Labor Party's victory, on the day of the Australian federal election, in Sydney, Australia, May 3, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/File Photo SYDNEY - Australia will seek to disprove the "corrosive" idea that democratic institutions are failing amid significant global uncertainty, and play a stabilising role in the region, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday. In his first major speech since his centre-left Labor party was re-elected in May, Albanese said the rise of far right and far left populism elsewhere in the world was because people felt they did not have a stake in the economy and that institutions were not working for them. "We are living in a time of significant global uncertainty - and that reaches beyond just economic instability, it is the more corrosive proposition that politics and government and democratic institutions, including a free media, are incapable of meeting the demands of this moment," he said in a speech to the National Press Club in Canberra. Albanese said that while some "cynically seek to harvest it", the Australian government saw its responsibility was to disprove such perceptions. He also referred to an Australian journalist hit by a rubber bullet during protests on Sunday in the U.S. city of Los Angeles as "horrific", and said that his government had contacted the U.S. over the incident to say it was not acceptable. Albanese is expected to meet U.S. President Donald Trump for the first time next week on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada, where the security allies will discuss tariffs and a request from the United States for Australia to increase defence spending from 2% to 3.5% of gross domestic product. Albanese has declined to publicly commit to a defence spending target, saying Australia would focus on capability needs, such as local manufacturing of missiles. "I think that Australia should decide what we spend on Australia's defence," he said on Tuesday, adding the country's ties in the Pacific and Asia were also important for its security. Australia was focussed on strengthening relationships in Asia, amid strategic competition in the region, he said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
