Latest news with #Trihey
Sky News AU
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Teal MP Monique Ryan intervenes at friends of ABC forum descends into chaos after punch thrown
A friends of ABC forum involving Teal MP Monique Ryan erupted on Wednesday when an elderly woman punched an anti-immigration protestor. Chaos has erupted at a candidates' forum in Melbourne after anti-immigration protesters gate crashed the event and was punched by an elderly woman. A video posted on social media has captured Matt Trihey from the anti-immigration and right-wing National Workers Alliance storming into a friends of the ABC-organised forum in the electorate of Kooyong on Wednesday night. Teal MP Monique Ryan, who was speaking at the event, could be seen intervening after a woman walked up to Mr Trihey and attempted to punch him in the face. — Melbourne Freedom Rally 😀🇦🇰 (@MelbFreedom) April 23, 2025 Labor candidate Clive Crosby and Greens candidate Jackie Carter also spoke at the forum, which was attended by a few dozen people. Footage showed Mr Trihey interrupting discussions as he stormed in, addressing the room loudly from the back saying 'We're just here to ask about immigration and crime'. He then began shouting about "the correlation between immigration and crime' and continued to yell and point at the speakers. "This is something these people need to answer because the people are being put at risk," he said. One man in the crowd stood up and addressed the protestor saying, 'how dare you come in here doing this?' before more attendees began to get up out their seats. "We are governed by parasites. We are governed by people who have no care for the people of this country," Mr Trihey said. Several screaming outbursts from a woman could be heard and others shouted 'get out' while Mr Trihey refused to be escorted outside. An elderly woman then walked up to the protestor and punched him. The pair were separated before Ms Ryan rushed over to intervene in the crowd that had gathered around them. Victoria Police confirmed officers were called to a library on Cotham Road, Kew about 6.30pm after reports three men had disrupted a meeting inside. Officers had spoken to the men, who were removed from the building before police arrived. No further complaints have been made to police and an investigation is ongoing. Ms Ryan told ABC Radio on Thursday morning that the forum had been going for about 15-20 minutes before she noticed three men enter the back of the room. 'It felt a bit strange. They clearly weren't there to attend the forum, I'm not sure that they had any great interest in the media diversity in this country,' Ms Ryan. 'They looked a bit menacing and they pretty much immediately started shouting and disrupted the meeting from for about 20 minutes.' Many of the audience members who were 'a little bit older,' were "really taken aback" by the protester's disruption, she said. The woman who threw a fist at Mr Trihey was a "little lady" who had become distressed by their appearance. 'She went over to him, and she sort of threw a punch at him," Ms Ryan said. 'She was a little lady, pretty frail, and he was not a small man, and I was really concerned about that, and the potential for that to escalate, where he did give her a push or something like that. '(I) firmly moved her away and asked another member of the audience to look after her. She actually looked a bit taken aback by her own action in doing that … I spoke to her afterwards, and she was a bit horrified by the whole thing." The Teal MP then asked one of the other candidates to call police as audience members and event organisers moved the protesters out the room, she said. 'It was stupid, pointless posturing, basically by these right-wing bullies … these people were just undertaking pointless disruption.' Teal MP's have had controversial experiences with debates this election cycle. Wentworth MP Allegra Spender refused to participate in a Sky News debate in her Eastern Sydney seat, despite previously agreeing to one on live TV after this network declined to kill a news story her office didn't like.
News.com.au
24-04-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
White supremacist crashes friends of ABC candidates meeting in seat of Kooyong
A figure in Melbourne's far-right scene has crashed a candidates forum in the seat of Kooyong, leading to a confrontation with members of the audience. A volunteer group which advocates for the ABC held the forum at the Kew Library, in Melbourne's southeast on Wednesday night. Matt Trihey wandered into the library with a cameraman in tow, and began yelling about immigration and crime. 'How dare you do this,' a member of the audience shouted. 'How dare they do this to our country,' Mr Trihey replied. After two minutes of yelling, which the audience returned, a woman walked up and tried to punch him in the face. Mr Trihey smiled, began slowly walking backward toward the exit, but continued shouting about 'not being represented by this so-called liberal democracy'. Police were called. A spokesperson told NewsWire three men had reportedly disrupted the meeting. 'The men were removed from the premises before police arrival,' the spokesperson said. 'Officers spoke to the men and at this stage no further complaints have been made to police. The investigation is ongoing.' On Thursday morning, Teal independent Monique Ryan told ABC Radio the woman who threw the punch was a frail 'little lady' and the men who crashed the meeting were 'right-wing bullies'. 'She was clearly expressing distress, she was kind of screaming,' Dr Ryan said. 'She went over to him, and she sort of threw a punch at him. 'She was a little lady, pretty frail, and he was not a small man, and I was really concerned about that, and the potential for that to escalate, where he did give her a push or something like that. '(I) firmly moved her away and asked another member of the audience to look after her. She actually looked a bit taken aback by her own action in doing that … I spoke to her afterwards, and she was a bit horrified by the whole thing. 'I asked one of the other candidates to call the police, and members of the audience and organisers managed to move the men out of the room. 'It took a while, but gradually we managed to move them out of the room and out of the library … eventually they left. 'It was stupid, pointless posturing, basically by these right-wing bullies … these people were just undertaking pointless disruption.' Most of the incident was posted online by an 'independent journalist', who was filming as they walked into the meeting with Mr Trihey. This 'journalist' has 28,000 followers on X, and mostly posts articles focusing on the ethnicities of criminals in Australia. In the clip, Mr Trihey is wearing a T-shirt with the logo of white-supremacist group, the National Workers Alliance, which he founded. Mr Trihey has also been politically active at public events with neo-Nazi Blair Cottrell. On Wednesday night, the Kew Library hosted the event for candidates in the hotly contested seat of Kooyong. The Coalition held Kooyong for 70 years, before Dr Ryan defeated then-treasurer Josh Frydenberg at the 2022 election. The electorate encompasses some of the most affluent suburbs in Melbourne, and sits just a few kilometres southeast of the CBD.
The Age
23-04-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Victoria's hot seats LIVE updates: Far-right agitators crash Kooyong forum, police called after clash with attendees; Anti-lockdown campaigner rebuked at Kooyong refugee forum
Latest posts Far-right agitators crash Kooyong forum, police called after clash with attendees By Rachael Dexter and Sherryn Groch A docile candidates' forum about public broadcasting at a library in Kooyong descended into chaos on Wednesday evening after far-right agitators gatecrashed the event, prompting one woman to throw a punch at one of the protesters. Kooyong MP Monique Ryan personally intervened to stop attendees getting into physical altercations after a frustrated female attendee tried to punch one of the agitators in the face. It's the second such disruption at a forum in Kooyong this week. Ryan was speaking alongside Greens candidate Jackie Carter and Labor candidate Clive Crosby to a crowd of about 60 people at Kew Library at the event convened by Friends of the ABC to discuss the state of the media in Australia and ABC funding. About half an hour into the discussion, three men entered the room, and one – who later identified himself to The Age as Matt Trihey – began shouting about immigration causing crime, knife crime, political donations and home invasions. 'You people are destroying this country because you will not address civic safety,' he shouted. Attendees at the event started yelling at the men to leave. One woman approached Trihey and attempted to punch him in the face before other attendees intervened – including Ryan. The woman appeared distraught after the incident and was quickly comforted by Ryan and others. Trihey was flanked by two other men – one of whom who was filming – who did not give their identities to The Age. The trio were eventually shepherded out after about eight minutes when police arrived. Trihey is trained in martial arts and was a member of the Lads Society, founded by neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell, but has since denied being a neo-Nazi himself. Earlier this year, Trihey and his self-described 'nationalist' group, the National Workers Alliance, gatecrashed a Chinese celebration in Box Hill, which was filmed and praised by neo-Nazi Joel Davis as 'solid work'. Trihey also drew attention at this year's Australia Day rally alongside white supremacist Blair Cottrell, and last year when he opened an anti-transgender rights rally on the steps of Victoria's parliament. Loading Marion Crooke, an organiser of the Kew event, said the three men entered during proceedings while the front door was unlocked and the registration table unmanned. 'I asked him if he had registered, he said yes – I had no opportunity to check,' she said. Crooke said she hadn't considered the event might need security, and was shocked by the events that transpired. Afterwards, we spoke to Ryan who said she didn't feel any personal threat against her, but had been concerned about the distress caused to the attendees. 'They weren't expecting that sort of interruption, and it was upsetting [for them],' she said. Ryan asked organisers to call the police. 'I was concerned for them. I was also concerned that things could potentially get out of hand if someone felt the need to [physically] intervene,' she said. 'It's unfortunate … I've not heard of that sort of thing [happening at other forums].' A Victoria Police spokesman said officers were called to the event about 6.30pm. 'Officers spoke to the men and at this stage no further complaints have been made to police. The investigation is ongoing,' he said. yesterday 6.44pm 'Deeply concerning': Labor senator calls for investigation into Liberal candidate's businesses Labor senator Jana Stewart has fired off letters calling for an investigation into Liberal candidate for Bruce Zahid Safi's NDIS businesses after reporting in this blog. Yesterday, we brought you news of the curious case of Safi and his wife's business empire – which includes NDIS businesses that publish fake reviews, stock images and inaccurate corporate records. Stewart, who is a member of the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme, clearly read the stories because she today fired off a letter detailing the allegations and calling for a multi-pronged investigation. Her letter was addressed to NDIA chief executive Rebecca Falkingham, but copied in were AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw, ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant and ACCC chairperson Gina Cass-Gottlieb. 'Dear Ms Falkingham, 'I refer to the enclosed media report published by The Age on 22 April 2025 (the report) in relation to several businesses owned by or linked to Mr Zahid Safi. 'The report is deeply concerning. It raises serious questions about whether three NDIS businesses owned by, or linked to, Mr Safi are genuine NDIS providers and, if so, the standard of care provided to vulnerable participants being services by Mr Safi's businesses …' Senator Stewart writes that 'given the range of possible offences across multiple Commonwealth statutes', she considers it appropriate to bring the issues to attention of key agencies for investigation. Stewart's letter singles out three of Safi and his wife's NDIS businesses – Willow Support Services, Casey Care Services and Infinite Community Supports – as requiring scrutiny. The letter states that NDIS providers should act with 'honesty, integrity and transparency' and questions whether the use of fake reviews, stock images and outdated addresses across these businesses meet that standard. 'Willow Support … appears to have its registered office at an address it does not occupy,' she writes. A Liberal source told The Age yesterday that Safi has 'no role' in one business, Infinite Community Supports, but Safi's mobile number is listed on the company's website, and Stewart queried whether accurate information had been provided in the registration process. 'The report raises serious questions about the quality of the initial registration audit and subsequent audits,' she wrote. 'In light of the deeply concerning matters raised in the report, I urge … a thorough investigation of these three NDIS providers.' The Liberal Party has so far stood by its candidate. After declining to answer detailed questions about Safi's many businesses, a spokesperson issued a statement on Tuesday: 'Like many small business owners, Zahid acknowledges that his administrative paperwork isn't always up to date and has taken steps with his accountant to rectify [this].' The Liberal Party was contacted for comment about Stewart's push for an investigation today. I sent Safi a full copy of the letter, called and texted to see if he wanted to respond, but didn't hear back. Minister for Social Services and the NDIS Amanda Rishworth said she was aware that a referral had been made for the issue to be investigated: 'The reports about the Liberal candidate for Bruce's NDIS businesses are concerning ... 'Ensuring the integrity of the NDIS – and the quality and safety of participants – is something our government has prioritised.' Bruce pre-poll watch: Three votes for Liberals, one for Labor but no sign of Safi I arrived at the pre-poll station for Bruce at Dandenong Stadium about 10am and things were already in full swing. The ABC's Patricia Karvelas was interviewing Labor MP Julian Hill for television, and Greens candidate Rhonda Garad was surrounded by volunteers from Muslim Votes Matter. 'Why do we have to be served up such a poor candidate?' Garad said, referring to our story about Liberal candidate Zahid Safi's businesses from yesterday. 'There's been a lack of due diligence and people are angry.' Our story raised questions about businesses owned by Safi, including the use of fake reviews, stock images and outdated addresses. Documents filed with the corporate regulator show two of Safi's businesses – NDIS provider Casey Care Services and training business Inspire Training Australia – have been deregistered as recently as March for unpaid fees. Volunteers from across the political spectrum (One Nation, Libertarian, Greens, Muslim Votes Matter, Australia Votes) came up to me to say thanks for the story. 'The sector is rotten,' said one, who didn't want to be named. So where is the Liberal candidate? He manned this booth for hours yesterday, but didn't appear this morning. 'He will be here,' one of his more than 10 volunteers assured me. 'That's allowed.' But after almost three hours passed, there was still no sign of the candidate who has been hard to track down this campaign. So instead, I turned my attention to the voters turning up to cast their votes early. David Moore from Doveton voted Liberal out of fear Labor would make changes to negative gearing. 'I own a few properties,' he said. Moore said he was voting for the party, not the candidate, and was worried Labor would strike deals with minor parties that might hurt his investments in the event of a hung parliament. Moore works in NDIS and hadn't read our story about questions around Safi's NDIS businesses, but said he would be concerned if they were using fake reviews. 'It is concerning,' he said of the reports. 'But I'm not voting for him, I'm voting for the party. I'm voting for Dutton. 'There's not a lot of regulation around [the] NDIS. One of the most ridiculous things is you only need an ABN to work in NDIS.' Rohit Singh works in tiling and also voted Liberal. He said Labor hasn't delivered on promises and felt let down by Victorian Labor Premier Jacinta Allan who had been 'sticking her nose in other problems', referring to her comments on Richmond's Noah Balta. 'She shouldn't be doing that,' he said. He added that Albanese often talks of growing up in housing commission accommodation but he was unconvinced his government was helping people in the same situation. 'He should be helping people but he's not.' Another voter, Zorica Freeman, said she had just voted Liberal 'because everything is too expensive these days'. 'Labor has neglected a lot of stuff, so a change in government would be a good thing,' she said. Freeman thought Safi was a 'good' candidate, but criticised the NDIS sector more broadly. 'As far as I'm concerned, they should cut out the middlemen.' Valerie Stevenson lives in public housing nearby and voted Labor, even though she said she'd felt let down by Albanese's leadership. 'I don't trust either of them,' she said of the major parties. Stevenson relies on the pension, and said her Centrelink payments recently went up by $8, but then her public housing rent went up by $10, so she's been left worse off. After buying basic food, petrol and bills – she doesn't have much left, so spends most of her time at home. 'It's hard,' she says. 'I've always voted Labor.' Just on noon, a large bus sponsored by a lobby group from Queensland called Minority Impact Coalition started circling the carpark with a big attack ad against Labor: 'Labor and Julian Hill failed us.' The right-wing group describes itself as a coalition of 'multi-ethnic backgrounds' concerned about Labor and the Greens, endorsed by Hindus of Australia, QLD Jewish Collective and the Iran Novin Party. As the sun beat down on the pavement in the early afternoon, blue-shirted volunteers dished out sunscreen to its people. 'I've challenged him to a debate, but he seems to be in hiding,' he wrote.
