Latest news with #PlymouthBrethren
ABC News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Marion Scrymgour calls out racist comment at Katherine pre-polling booth
The Member for Lingiari has filed a complaint after a racist incident at a Katherine pre-polling booth. Labor's Marion Scrymgour said a voter approached her at the voting site and spoke to her about "To have a male, a man point his finger to my chest and say … a black boy had killed a man in Nightcliff, 'You're black, so what are you going to do about it?'," she said. "I wasn't going to put up with the bullying and the intimidation and the racism … there's no room for this in the Northern Territory, we've got greater issues that we've got to deal with." Labor's Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour. ( ABC News: Michael Franchi ) An Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) spokesperson said it had received Ms Scrymgour's complaint and that staff had reminded all campaigners they needed to be respectful, otherwise the police would be called. "As a reminder, the AEC is not the police and we have no ability to regulate behaviour that occurs outside of a polling place," the spokesperson said. Claim of brethren in Katherine Ms Scrymgour has also alleged "aggressive and intimidating" behaviour from members of a conservative Christian sect in a separate incident at the Katherine early voting centre. Ms Scrymgour said she had a "big barney" with members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, who she said were flown into the outback Northern Territory town before the federal election. "They were aggressive and intimidating … we had women who were terrified to go to the booth in Katherine," she said. Ms Scrymgour said the Brethren were campaigning for the CLP and were "aided by the Member for Katherine" Jo Hersey — a claim which Ms Hersey "strongly refutes". NT Minister Jo Hersey. ( ABC News: Xavier Martin ) Ms Scrymgour said about 40 of "The plane would pick them up at night after the booths were closed, and then they would be taken to Dugong Beach Resort on Groote Eyelandt," she said. Ms Scrymgour said she had put in a complaint to the AEC, but a spokesperson said it had not been received. "The AEC has not received a complaint about people being flown into communities," they said. "AEC staff have not, to our knowledge, documented any poor behaviour at any of the abovementioned polling places. "The AEC does not have authority over incidents that occurred outside of the 6-metre exclusion zone in front of the polling places, or outside of the polling place itself, other than to remind campaigners to behave respectfully." The AEC says it has no authority to regulate behaviour that occurs outside a polling place. ( Supplied: AEC ) A spokesperson from the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church said they could not comment on "how many of our parishioners were volunteering, where, when or for whom, nor on how they travelled there, because we don't know, didn't organise it and certainly didn't pay for it". "We don't support any political parties, we don't tell our members to volunteer or not for political candidates," the spokesperson said. Photo shows A composite image of two people with blurred faces wearing blue Liberal Party t-shirts. Members of a secretive Christian sect are being given instructions on how to lie about their beliefs against voting in elections, in an apparent coordinated effort to campaign for the Liberal and National parties. "Our church is aware that many of our parishioners chose to volunteer for some candidates from various political parties at the last election, and that this volunteerism increased after their involvement started being criticised. "Over the course of the past week in particular, we saw parishioners being frequently photographed by media, called 'Exclusive Brethren' by others on polling booths, and taunted not only by keyboard warriors but even some candidates and sitting MPs. "As a general point, the church hopes its parishioners are respectful to everyone in the community at all times, and equally hopes that the same respect is offered to them at all times."
Sydney Morning Herald
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Desperate Dutton turns to scare tactics in his own electorate
Peter Dutton's desperate struggle to hold on to his own seat of Dickson against the twin threat of Ali France (Labor) and Ellie Smith (independent) reached new heights on Tuesday with the electorate-wide mailout of two pamphlets claiming dire consequences would be forthcoming if he were not re-elected – including the legalisation of ice and heroin. He hasn't actually turned up to meet voters in his area, he just hopes to frighten and divide the community with unsubstantiated scare tactics and splurging cash from secret donors on billboards and expensive postal propaganda (' Dutton's power is now a weakness,' April 28). David Grogan, Wights Mountain (Qld) When I saw the photo of the media pack pushing Dutton's bus, I wasn't sure whether it illustrated a case of 'hate media' pushback or turning the other cheek (' Pitt stop for Dutton's campaign bus ', April 29). Brenda Proudfoot, Valentine It must have brought a lump to Dutton's throat when the 'hate media' helped get his bus going again. Time will tell if he forgets their gesture and throws them back under it. Peter Campbell, Potts Point The front-page photo of the media pack pushing Peter Dutton's bus backwards superbly captures his campaign and policies. There is no doubt that a Dutton government would take Australia backwards. Alan Morris, Eastlakes Appearing on Sky News complaining about the press pack, our dear, humourless opposition leader said: 'I just think they're so biased, and many of them just activists, not journalists, that their position becomes counterproductive. And they're playing to a particular audience.' He didn't see the irony of saying it on Sky News. Alan Nicholas, Sandringham Double standards Having witnessed the overwhelming numbers of Plymouth Brethren members masquerading as Liberal volunteers in my own electorate, I wonder if this is a MAGA-style strategy to undermine the workings of our democracy (' Brethren don't vote but are secretly campaigning for the Coalition,' April 29)? Their sheer numbers make the volunteers for other parties almost invisible and diminish the work real hard-working volunteers put in. Who is organising and paying for these ring-ins? And how much influence will their flooding of polling booths have on the votes in the marginal electorates they have targeted? Even if these tactics are not illegal, they are certainly not in the spirit of our Australian democracy. Mark Pearce, Springwood The Plymouth Brethren are exempted from voting on the basis of their religious beliefs. It now appears that they do, in fact, wish to directly take part in an electoral process they apparently do not believe in, which leaves them with a few options. Either they can pay the fine for not voting, or perhaps they may like to pay the entry fee for participation in elections – that is, taxes. I don't imagine they would be happy with either, but this is what comes from burning the candle at both ends. Ross Hudson, Mount Martha (Vic) If the Plymouth Brethren do not see fit to exercise the democratic right to vote, it is sheer hypocrisy to try and influence others' votes, and that party should not accept their support. Judith Campbell, Drummoyne Warm welcome Former Liberal Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt is right – Dutton's comments that Welcome to Country is not appropriate at Anzac ceremonies are divisive and not helpful. Lest we forget the appalling way our Indigenous veterans were treated on coming home – they were barred from having a drink with their mates at the pub. There were no pensions for their widows or for those who could no longer work after losing their limbs. They never benefited from soldier settlement grants. With proper education, most Australians support and understand that Welcome to Country is a welcome to the local area. It is not and never has been a welcome to Australia itself. Just look at how well the AFL has dealt with the issue to help stop racism towards Indigenous players in our great game. Ninety thousand cheered Welcome to Country at the MCG. Colin Hughes, Midland (WA) There seems to be some confusion over the terms 'welcome' or 'acknowledgement'. As a proud non-Indigenous Australian I am also very proud that we have an Indigenous culture here stretching backs many thousands of years which we can learn from. As a tour guide around Sydney Harbour, I do an 'acknowledgement' of the traditional owners of the lands and waterways we will be passing through. My understanding is that it is for the traditional Indigenous owners to do the 'Welcome' to Country and for the visitors to 'acknowledge' the traditional owners, past and present and emerging. With so many different Indigenous groups over our wide continent, this was the accepted means of passing over land or 'Country' of another group – just as these days one would ask permission to cross over another person's backyard or property. It is a courtesy and tradition we should be proud of. Jan Larsen, Birchgrove How dare that man tell Australians that we, as a nation, do not want veterans to address the Welcome to Country on Anzac Day? Being a Vietnam veteran and organising the dawn service in one of Sydney's suburbs last Friday, people were pleased to hear the WTC, many of them veterans. Let the Australian people speak. John Verhelst, Huntleys Cove Given our history, how can something culturally significant that we share with Indigenous Australians be 'overkill'? The lands known as Sydney for the past 237 years have been the ancestral country of the people of the Eora nation for about 60,000 years. How can there be anything wrong in regularly and respectfully acknowledging and celebrating this fact? Every city and town in Australia has 'Welcome to' signs on the entry roads and at airports. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islands peoples have welcoming protocols. Every 'welcome' is a special occasion. Elections are an integral part of our democracy. Let's not use this one as another attempt at exploitation. We should be much bigger than this. David Hind, North Sydney Dutton is criticised for a lack of detail on many election policies, but he is clear in his contemptible attitude towards First Nations people: the defeat of the Voice referendum and his refusal to stand in front of the Indigenous flag. Now he finds the Welcome to Country ceremony offensive. This is the man who wants to govern us all. This is also the man who stands proudly in front of the Australian flag, which has the flag of a foreign country prominently displayed. Rob Venables, Bermagui Your editorial is just tremendous (' Welcome to Country should make us proud,' April 29). Calling out Peter Dutton as 'difficult to follow on First Nation issues', very politely I might say, says it all. Well done. Rob Reitano, Lane Cove West Dutton is pushing the 'Welcome to Country' button, hoping that those who voted No to the Voice will heed his call. Genevieve Milton, Dulwich Hill Dutton's disapproval of Welcome to Country ceremonies on Anzac Day was not the view of the 92,000 people at the MCG on Anzac Day. They broke into spontaneous applause at the end of the ceremony. Dutton would appear not to have the numbers there. Brian Kidd, Mt Waverley (Vic) Surely a Qantas flight landing in Australia is the perfect time for an Acknowledgement of Country. While many on board will be Australians returning home, many will be first-time visitors. Acknowledgement of Country gives them a glimpse of what is unique about Australia, courtesy of our First Nation Australians. It seems mean-spirited to want to stop such a positive introduction to Australia simply because you've heard it before. You can always keep your headphones on and your mind – sorry, eyes – closed. Isobel Page, Hornsby Heights A picture may speak a thousand words, but add a few words and the message is crystal clear. Cathy Wilcox has nailed Peter Dutton in Tuesday's cartoon (Letters, April 29) – a welcome to Dutton's country and all he stands for. I guess Pete will now add The Sydney Morning Herald to his list of 'hate media'. Peter Robertson, Stanmore Rinehart is a true patriot The Herald published many letters berating mining magnate Gina Reinhart (Letters, April 26) for making the following statement: 'It is my belief that we urgently need to do more to defend Australians, starting with protecting our ports, airports, sea lanes, and other vital infrastructure, and significantly boosting our smart sea mines, small drones and Israeli-style drones accordingly, and boosting our defence manufacturing here at Australia, as well as our budget to 5 per cent of GDP.' All the letters merely expressed personal dislike for Rinehart and her politics. The point they missed was that we dishonour the legacy of those who died for peace and prosperity if we lose it through neglect to defend ourselves, or blindness to the lessons of the past. We should not forget what it took to win and what is now required to maintain our sovereignty. Reinhart spoke as a patriot should. Peter Simple, North Curl Curl Art of monopoly It's clear that the behemoth on the Parramatta River will compromise the independence of the arts and design industry, which will be beholden to nothing but Powerhouse Parramatta with its ballooning costs (' Price tag for opening of Powerhouse Parramatta edges towards $50 million,') April 29). We must take pity on all 'outsider' arts, cultural, heritage and science organisations, who will suffer from this monopolistic hoovering of philanthropy and diverse enterprise. Suzette Meade, Toongabbie Poor visa decision What a bloody joke. We allow Russian tourists to breathe our air and enjoy time out in our peaceful democracy, but deny entry to young, fundraising African entertainers on the baseless suspicion they might overstay their visas (' Chaos as young African singers locked out of Australia at last minute,' April 29). Might their healthy glow and vibrancy be too much of a contrast to the lot of many of Australia's marginalised Indigenous people so close to an election? Sort this out, Albo! Dave Watts, Avalon Please explain. How does one get one's first visa to Australia if complying with a previous visa is a requirement? This decision is evidence that we are no longer Australia, but a world of Kafka. Rational and compassionate Australians can only hope this ridiculous mess is cleared up before this letter is published, and before this admirable charity loses a huge amount of money and audiences. I, personally, am outraged at the incompetence as well as the poor human values demonstrated by this visa decision. Judith Wheeldon, Roseville Protect pensioners In 2013, just before he led the Coalition to victory over Labor, Tony Abbott promised he would make 'no cuts to pensions'. Yet two years later, at the suggestion of Scott Morrison, he did exactly that. More than 100,000 age pensioners suffered cuts from changes to both the income and assets tests, after they had retired. Some lost their part age pension entirely. This broke long-standing practice that changes to age pensions were 'grandfathered' for people already retired. Shamefully The Greens and Labor voted to support this and it was passed late on the last night before the winter recess. Please put the question to all leaders and candidates: If elected, will you ensure that any future changes to pensions are 'grandfathered' for people already retired? Kevin Fell, Cooks Hill Renewables neglected I've recently returned from holidaying and visiting family in Western Europe. It really is embarrassing how far behind Australia is with renewable energy and climate action. Across Western Europe there are many solar and wind farms, electric vehicles and charging stations (in big cities and small regional towns). Even the Poms are ahead of us. The famous London red bus fleet is now mostly running on electricity. Dutton, Ley, O'Brien, Littleproud, Joyce, Canavan and Co should hang their heads in shame for the nonsense they sprout about the detrimental impact of solar and wind farms on birds, whales and agriculture. They are far less costly, intrusive and dangerous to humans, animals and our earth than massive craters in the ground, smokestacks, fumes, dust, bad smells and nuclear waste. I laughed when I saw Peter Dutton's new election slogan, because we were never 'on track' under the Coalition government. Ten years of neglect and fearmongering around the transition to renewable technologies, a waste of time and investment opportunities. We should already have this infrastructure up and running. Thank goodness Labor is committed to this transition. Let's keep it going. Peter Brown, Kincumber The Coalition attacks on subsiding the purchase of EVs just shows how ignorant they are about the environment. The purpose of the subsidy is to encourage consumers to buy electric over petrol cars. An electric car doesn't emit any carbon: a petrol-driven car does for 15 to 20 years. We have to pay huge sums to get rid of carbon gases. In the end, the subsidy pays for itself many times over what it costs the government. The Coalition has no idea. John Rome, Mt Lawley Grace of youth What a lovely article by Lucia Frazzetto (' My generation could learn a lot from Boomers about gratitude,' April 29). I wish gratitude could be taught. Unfortunately it is something more elusive, but it coexists with graciousness, something Lucia is showing in abundance. Elizabeth Darton, Lane Cove West I experienced a gem moment thanks to Lucia Frazzetto's article about gratitude. How uplifting to read such a positive piece, particularly from one so young in these challenging times. When raising our children, we would sit around the dinner table and each recall 'the best things about today'. Despite much eye-rolling through their teenage years, it's rewarding to see that they now do this with their own children. A 'glass half full' attitude certainly enhances the simple joys of living. Cath Hunting, MacMasters Beach I'm grateful that I wake up every day. Elizabeth Maher, Gordon Hateful hip-hop What foolish young men the Irish rapper band Kneecap are ( ' Kill your MP: Irish rappers in new counter-terror drama,' April 29). They are too young to remember the pain and suffering that other foolish, aggressive young men caused in Ireland and beyond in previous times. Political violence makes it much more difficult for people to work out their differences. To make money out of this violent nonsense is particularly nauseating. Paul Doyle, Glenbrook Low rating Just a gentle reminder about credit rating agencies and the value of their opinions (' PM, treasurer challenged on AAA credit rating risk,' April 29). These are the very same agencies that gave high credit ratings to the mortgage-backed securities that collapsed and sparked the Global Financial Crisis in 2007/8. Obviously, this is a petty little detail from a long time ago, and we should all now trust their assessments. Chris Andrew, Turramurra Study shy My grandson informs me that what appears to be his apathy towards study is really due to his constant struggle to find 'a happy life balance' (Letters, April 29). Elizabeth Kroon, Randwick
