Source : the age
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Supporters of Zoe Daniel who have corflutes for the independent teal MP displayed outside their homes are being sent anonymous letters accusing them of being antisemitic and hating Jews.
The letters are addressed “Hello Neighbour” and claim the corflutes supporting Daniel are reminiscent of “1930s-40s” Germany.
Goldstein MP Zoe Daniel.Credit: Simon Schluter
“Seeing the signs (and those of certain other parties such as the Greens) abundant has many (dare I even suggest the majority) of the Jewish community actively considering our future in Victoria, and Australia,” the letter states.
It claims that Daniel’s supporters are “an active participant in our decisions to uproot our families and leave”.
Daniel said the anonymous letters circulating in the electorate were “an appalling act of intimidation”.
She said antisemitism must be called out and stamped out.
Read more in our Victoria’s hot seats blog here.
Returning now to Kooyong, which has seen more than its fair share of action this election.
Federal political correspondent Paul Sakkal revealed earlier today that Australia’s election integrity watchdog had opened a probe into a video of volunteers campaigning for independent MP Monique Ryan.
The volunteers were filmed saying they were directed to vote for Ryan by organisations with historical ties to China’s foreign influence operation.
In response to the video, Ryan said she was grateful for the support from the Chinese community but denied anyone had been compelled to vote for her.
“I’m not sure about the interpretation of that video…whether it’s accurate,” she said.
A spokesperson for the Australian Electoral Commission said it had become aware of the video when it was published on Monday and would review it.
Read the full story here.
Dutton was faced with a gotcha question on the current inflation rate on Tuesday.
Asked if he knew what the current inflation rate was, Dutton said: “2.7 per cent is the answer to your question.”
The current annual inflation rate, for the 12 months to the end of December, is 2.4 per cent. Economists are tipping it to edge down when the March quarter figures are released on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, underlying inflation was at 3.3 per cent for the December quarter.
But the Australia Bureau of Statistics also measures inflation on a monthly basis. Its current annual trimmed mean inflation rate, which strips out some pricing volatility, was running at 2.7 per cent to the end of February.
Dutton has dodged questions about his labelling of some organisations “hate media”.
At a press conference in Moss Vale, a reporter referred to Dutton saying twice that some organisations, including the ABC and The Guardian, were “hate media” and that journalists were activists, asking what questions the opposition leader had disliked.
“I think what Australians are concentrating on only days out from the election is not the feelings of, you know, with respect, anyone [from the media],” the opposition leader replied.
The journalist interrupted: “You’re the one that’s taken issue”.
Dutton continued his answer, saying families were interested in what’s better for them and promoted his fuel excise reduction and tax rebate.
Another reporter asked: “Isn’t blaming the media just a convenient excuse at this point of the campaign?”
Dutton continued speaking over questions, saying the prime minister had no interest in stopping gangs.
“I want to keep our country safe and that’s exactly what we’ll do,” Dutton said before walking away.
Another journalist yelled about integrity as Dutton walked off.
Dutton said an anti-nuclear protest interrupting an earlier media event in Nowra was disappointing for the kids at the junior rugby club.
“In relation to the kids who I think were disappointed to have their event disrupted, it would have been nice to spend more time with them, but there were Greens and teal supporters dressed up and it was a stunt,” the opposition leader said.
“Unfortunately, the football coaches that we spoke to were really annoyed, actually, and upset at the protests. It makes no difference to me in terms of protest activity, but it disrupted an event where we wanted to talk about helping kids play junior rugby.”
Dutton says the Liberal Party has not recruited people from particular religions as campaign volunteers, after Plymouth Brethren Christian Church members were out promoting conservative candidates.
Earlier Albanese questioned what was going on with Brethren members sent out to campaign for conservative candidates, labelling them as a cult.
Peter Dutton.Credit: James Brickwood
This masthead revealed the church had dispatched hundreds of its members to pre-polling booths in marginal seats while instructing them to keep secret that they were members of the controversial religion.
“The Liberal Party has not recruited people from particular religions. We’re a volunteer-based organisation. People can volunteer and provide support to their local Liberal National Party candidate. I’d encourage them to do that,” Dutton said.
“We’re not discriminating against anybody on the basis of their religion.”
The opposition leader has spoken in Moss Vale, in the federal electorate of Whitlam, which covers the southern Illawarra and NSW Southern Highlands.
Labor’s Stephen Jones holds Whitlam with a margin of 10.9 per cent. The seat was known as Throsby before the 2016 election. Jones has held it since 2010.
More than 3 million Australians have already voted at pre-polling stations around the nation.
If you’re yet to cast your ballot, we’ve prepared an interactive tool to help you learn more about your electorate.
Enter the name of your seat in the interactive to find out the names of the candidates, the margin and more.
Good afternoon and thanks for following our live coverage so far today.
Thanks to Nick Newling for steering things this morning. My name is Alex Crowe, and I’ll bring you the updates through the afternoon.
If you’re just joining us, here are some Tuesday highlights.
- Today’s political debate has again turned to culture wars, with Welcome to Country ceremonies still dominating part of the discussion.
- Former prime minister Tony Abbott has called the ceremonies “a political statement” and compared them to wearing masks during the COVID pandemic.
- Former Indigenous affairs minister Ken Wyatt told ABC radio that politicians should “stay out” of the debate around Aboriginal cultural practices.
- A teenage girl has been arrested after a late-night graffiti blitz at one of Peter Dutton’s Queensland offices. Red paint and posters were splashed across the building in Moreton Bay.
- Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor has criticised the prime minister for “attacking” S&P Global, after Anthony Albanese defended the government’s fiscal position on ABC’s 7.30.
- Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has said that Labor’s spending proposals are putting “downward pressure” on the concerns raised by S&P as the agency forewarned a threat to Australia’s AAA credit rating based on both major parties’ off-budget spending promises.
- Peter Dutton’s press conference in the marginal NSW seat of Gilmore ended in chaos when anti-nuclear protesters descended on the event.
Salmon farming is not something most voters consider when they go to the polls on election day. But for Tasmanian voters, it is a huge and often divisive issue.
This debate about the environmental effects of salmon farming is playing out in an election where any other discussion of the environment is pretty much non-existent. It’s a curious fact because energy policy goes hand-in-hand with the environment and that is a decisive topic of this election. It’s also curious that the federal environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has been very quiet during the campaign.
National environment and climate reporter Bianca Hall and energy correspondent Mike Foley join Jacqueline Maley to discuss
