Latest news with #TheMuslimVote
ABC News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
The Muslim Vote-endorsed candidates who scored numbers at the polls say they're just getting started
Labor may have retained the Western Sydney seats of Blaxland and Watson with comfortable margins, but a closer look at the results reveals the party has lost some support. While the federal election was fought on many fronts including the housing crisis, cost of living and migration, the issue of Gaza loomed large in the two seats, where the highest concentration of Australian Muslims live. Independents endorsed by The Muslim Vote campaign secured enough of the primary vote to edge out the Liberal candidates and come second in the two-party preferred vote behind Labor frontbenchers Tony Burke and Jason Clare. The Muslim Vote formed less than two years ago with a mission to unify Australian Muslims as a voting bloc to back independent candidates sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. The Muslim Vote has consistently accused the Labor government of complicity in the destruction of Gaza and attacks on its people. In Blaxland, independent Ahmed Ouf averaged 20 per cent of the primary vote across the electorate. ABC analysis of booth data reveals Mr Ouf dominated in suburbs like Guildford and South Granville with almost 46 per cent of first preferences. In Auburn Central he got as high as 46.6 per cent of the primary vote. Mr Ouf managed to bite into Education Minister Jason Clare's margin which went from 55 per cent at the 2022 election to about 46.5 per cent last Saturday. He seems to have also siphoned a similar percentage of primary votes from the Liberal Party, which had just over 27 per cent in 2022 but around 19 per cent this year. Independent Ziad Basyouny in Watson also chipped away at Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke's primary vote, which was down from 51.9 per cent in 2022 to about 48.5 per cent. Political scientist and the Centre for Western Sydney executive director Andy Marks said there was "no question" that Gaza and geopolitics played an outsized role in Western Sydney and the vote overall. "This is the kind of surge you would expect to see over four or five election cycles, typically," Professor Marks said. "For them to poll so strongly early on, I think says something about the broad base of their appeal." The Labor Party, Mr Burke and Mr Clare declined to comment. The Greens also experienced a significant upswing in their Senate votes in those seats. Voting data shows the Greens more than doubled their Senate vote in Blaxland from 6 per cent in 2022 to about 13.6 per cent this year. In Watson they rose from 9 per cent to about 14.5 per cent. NSW senator and Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi credited the improved vote share to Muslim communities backing the party's stance on Gaza. The International Court of Justice last January ruled Israel must do everything in its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected the genocide allegations levelled against it, brought to the court by South Africa. The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said in March that since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians. The Israeli government said 1,200 Israelis were killed in an attack by Hamas. Professor Marks believes the Greens' Senate result is an indicator of how voters in the electorates engage with federal politics. "I think the fact that the voters were able to discern a role for the Greens, if you like a guardian role for them in the Senate, says that the electorate is pretty sophisticated — they consider those checks and balances very carefully." The Muslim Vote convener Sheikh Wesam Charkawi said the results send a clear message to Labor. "These are not passive voters. They're active voters who voted to basically reject their stance on Gaza, Palestine, their weak stance," he said. Sheikh Wesam said the results in the 2025 election were only the beginning and vowed the community "will no longer accept broken promises". Professor Marks said the vote share in these electorates signalled there was strong support for both independents should they contest the next election. "It's a conundrum for Labor and for the Liberals but if you're in office, if you're Labor, you're thinking do I need to co-opt this group? Do I need to align and accept they'll be there much like the Greens are a continual force in that space in the electorate."
ABC News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
The Muslim Vote urges Parramatta constituents to preference Liberals over Labor due to 'justice on Gaza'
The Muslim Vote campaign is urging voters in the marginal seat of Parramatta to preference the Liberals over Labor as it takes aim at the ALP's "failure to stand for justice on Gaza and Palestine". The teal-style movement is not a political party, but instead endorses independent candidates that align with its message of uniting Muslim voters to elect candidates who are more supportive of Palestinian rights. Anger in the Muslim and Arab communities over the destruction of Gaza has boiled over as bloody scenes from the besieged strip have flooded the news over the last 18 months. The Muslim Vote is a movement which is endorsing independent candidates that are more supportive of Palestinian rights. ( ABC News: Marcus Stimson ) Stay updated: Catch the latest interviews and in-depth coverage on The Muslim Vote convener Sheikh Wesam Charkawi told the ABC most of that anger is directed at the federal government. "The frustration, I've never seen on this level. The anger, I've never seen on this level," Sheikh Charkawi said. While the campaign is not endorsing a candidate in Parramatta, it's hoping to unseat first term federal Labor member Andrew Charlton. Sheikh Charkawi said the strategic decision is intended to send a strong message to the Labor Party. "Labor will be preferenced after Liberal and that ensures that they are held to account for the stances they've taken on the issues that we brought to them and they've simply failed to act," he said. Parramatta MP Andrew Charlton holds the seat by a slim margin. ( Facebook: Andrew Charlton MP ) The Labor Party has traditionally counted on Australian Muslims to vote Labor, but "the community feel betrayed", said Sheikh Charkawi. "We will not be held as political hostages, we're not going to uphold that system," he said. "Given that you presided over a genocide and paid nothing but weak lip service then you deserve to be preferenced beneath the Liberal Party." The International Court of Justice earlier last year ruled Israel must do everything in its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected the genocide allegations levelled against it, brought to the court by South Africa. The Gaza Health Ministry said that since October 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians. The Israeli government said 1,200 Israelis were killed in an attack by Hamas. 'Abandoned his constituency' According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 census, 10.5 per cent or just over 21,000 Muslims live in the Parramatta Commonwealth Electoral Division. There is no way of knowing how many of them are voters. The Muslim Vote has endorsed independent candidates Dr Ziad Bassyouny to run against Minister Tony Burke in Watson, and pharmacist Ahmed Ouf in Minister Jason Clare's seat of Blaxland — the two seats with the largest Muslim population nationally. Both ministers hold their seats with comfortable margins of 15.1 per cent in Watson and 14.9 per cent in Blaxland. It's a different story in Parramatta however, as Mr Charlton holds the seat by a slim 3.7 per cent margin. He is up against Liberal candidate Katie Mullens. The ABC reached out to Mr Charlton and Ms Mullen, who both declined to comment. Just over 21,000 Muslims live in the Parramatta Commonwealth Electoral Division, according to the latest census data. ( ABC News: Mackenzie Heard ) Sheikh Wesam said the message to Mr Charlton was clear. "There needs to be consequences for your actions. Andrew Charlton, has been very, very quiet and very silent on standing for justice on Palestine and Gaza." The Muslim Vote will urge all its supporters in Parramatta to preference Greens candidate Liz Tilly first. The Muslim Vote is urging its supporters in Parramatta to give their first preference to Liz Tilly from The Greens. ( Supplied: The Muslim Vote ) Ms Mullens comes in at number five followed by Mr Charlton — just before Trumpet of Patriots and Pauline Hanson's One Nation. The Muslim Vote and other members of the community say they have reached out to Mr Charlton to voice their anger and frustration. But Sheikh Wesam said their calls had fallen on deaf ears. "Andrew Charlton has abandoned his constituency on the Gaza issue. There's a mood of betrayal on the ground. "We're hearing in fact from a lot of people that are saying, come next election 3rd of May, we'll definitely going to be casting our votes against the Labor Party." Loading Having trouble seeing this form? Try
SBS Australia
28-04-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Peter Dutton doubles down on his Welcome to Country position
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with . TRANSCRIPT: Peter Dutton doubles down on his Welcome to Country position; Murder charges laid after a car ramming killed 11 in Canada's Vancouver; A man killed in a crash at the ProMX motocross Championship in South Australia. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has continued to double down on his Welcome to Country views, saying the ceremonies should be relegated to "significant events" only. He says he doesn't consider Anzac Day to be one of those significant events . "It's ultimately a decision for the individual organisers of the events. But listening to a lot of veterans in this space - and Anzac Day is about our veterans - there's about 103,000 Australians who have died in service of our country. I think if you're listening to their sentiment, it would be that they don't want it on that day." Discussion around the necessity of the ceremonies has resurfaced since a group – which included known neo-Nazis – heckled the Welcome to Country at an Anzac Day Dawn Service in Melbourne. The Melbourne Storm also cancelled the planned welcome before their last match. The war in Gaza appears to have fractured support for Labor among Arab and Muslim voters ahead of the election. Groups such as The Muslim Vote and Muslim Votes Matter are hoping to capitalise on community concern about the major party's positions on Gaza, calling on voters to preference third-party candidates and their independents ahead of Labor and the Coalition. Egyptian-born pharmacist Ahmed Ouf is running as an independent against Education Minister Jason Clare, who has held the safe Labor seat of Blaxland since 2007 and won nearly 65 per cent of the vote in 2022. The pharmacist has told SBS News that for his community, which has one of the highest Muslim populations in the country at 32 per cent, the issue of Gaza has been a tipping point. "If we keep doing the same thing over and over, we won't get anything different than what we have had in the last 20 years of Jason Clare. Gaza was the straw that broke the camel's back, let's say, because he didn't speak about Gaza inside the Parliament. He only mentioned Gaza once." Murder charges have been laid against a man accused of driving his car through a crowd celebrating a Filipino community festival in Vancouver, killing 11 people. The 30 year old is facing eight counts of second degree murder so far. But Vancouver authorities say more charges are possible. Meanwhile Vancouver chief of police Steve Rai says while the motive for the attack is yet to be officially determined, they have ruled out some possibilities. "While I'm not prepared to speak about the potential motive, I can now say with confidence that the evidence in this case does not lead us to believe this was an act of terrorism." North Korea has confirmed for the first time that it has sent troops to fight for Russia in the war with Ukraine under orders from leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea has sent an estimated total of 14-thousand troops to fight alongside Russia, which South Korean Defence Ministry spokesperson Koo Byoung-Sam says is a clear violation of UN Charter resolutions. "The truth cannot be concealed. Sacrificing North Korean youth for the regime's survival is an inhumane and immoral act. The government calls for the immediate withdrawal of North Korean troops and makes clear that if the current military collusion between North Korea and Russia continues, we will not stand idly by but will respond firmly in coordination with the international community." The confirmation follows a deadly strike in Kyiv last Friday that killed 12 people, with the missile that struck the residential building supplied by North Korea. Both Russia and North Korea have denied weapons transfers that would violate U.N. embargoes. The Victorian government has opened what is the state's first public residential treatment centre for people with eating disorders. The opening date had been delayed for the past twelve months, with construction delays pushing back the unveiling from February 2024 to today. Victoria's Minister for Mental Health, Ingrid Stitt, says the centre in Melbourne will fill a critical gap in care. "This residential option will break that nexus for people cycling through our emergency departments because it will give Victorians battling complex eating disorders the opportunity for up to 12 weeks of therapeutic residential care." Opioids 1000 times stronger than morphine and an animal sedative used to lace street drugs have been detected in Australia's wastewater. They're among five different nitazines found in up to six percent of samples tested by researchers in a study in the latest issue of the Environmental Science and Pollution Research journal. The study follows warnings from health authorities in NSW and South Australia about the drugs. They say nitazenes are being sold as black-market oxycodone, or are being mixed with other drugs, like heroin. A man has died after a crash in the 2025 ProMX Championship at Gillman in South Australia. The man has been identified as 30 year old motocross identity Joel Evans. Race organisers have confirmed the accident happened during round three of the championship event.
