Victoria’s hot seats LIVE updates: Police called to Brunswick voting booth; Cost of living in focus in final week of campaigning

A dispute over signage between a Labor staffer volunteering for Wills MP Peter Khalil and a Muslim Votes Matter volunteer at a pre-polling station in Brunswick led to police being called and the activist being questioned by officers.

The dispute, along with an argument between minor party volunteers, prompted the Australian Electoral Commission on Saturday to note “physical and verbal violence” at the pre-poll booth and to warn candidates and their teams to treat each other with respect.

“There have been incidents of physical and verbal violence this week between campaign workers and between campaign workers and voters,” the AEC’s divisional returning officer for Wills, Ashley Walker, said in an email sent to all candidates late on Saturday night.

“Party and campaign workers hold strong beliefs, are passionate and are trying their best for you, the candidates, but we ask that interactions with each other and with the public [are] done with respect,” Walker wrote.

“If you wish to make a complaint about another party worker for behavioural conduct not relating to electoral laws, it is best to contact the relevant party directly. Where this involves violence, whether physical or verbal, I strongly advise that you contact Victoria Police.”

On Saturday, Montaser el-Wazani joined other Muslim Votes Matter volunteers to unveil a sign at the Davies Street pre-poll booth in Brunswick.

Muslim Votes Matter is campaigning against Labor’s Khalil in Wills and has endorsed Greens candidate Samantha Ratnam.

The sign says “Peter Khalil went on a Zionist lobby trip”. It refers to a trip Khalil took to Israel (before he was elected as an MP) organised by the Australia-Israel Leadership Forum.

The sign is authorised by Muslim Votes Matters and has been displayed across the electorate, appearing last week outside mosques in Glenroy and Fawkner before Friday prayers.

On Saturday, however, when it was put up across the road from the polling station, a One Nation van was parked in front of the sign.

When the Muslim Votes Matter volunteers moved the sign, a dispute unfolded between a Labor staffer and el-Wazani.

Khalil said police were called “because there was an assault”, while Greens volunteers and others handing out how-to-vote cards said there was no physical contact, only an argument.

The Labor staffer involved was Lachlan Hinds, listed on LinkedIn as a media and policy adviser in federal parliament. He could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Palestinian-born el-Wazani said Victoria Police had attended because “the Labor Party called them”.

“There had been a minor incident where a young man associated with the Labor Party targeted our Palestinian banner. He confronted us, trying to control the area and limit our presence,” he said.

“After a brief confrontation, he contacted police. There was no physical assault or abuse – it was just a verbal confrontation. Many people witnessed the scene. The young man went away and we thought that was the end of it.”

“The claims of assault and abuse were exaggerated by the Labor Party member to justify police involvement. Police approached me and took me into a laneway and questioned me for about 10 minutes. I told them what had happened and nobody was assaulted.”

A Victoria Police spokeswoman said police had attended the Davies Street voting booth about midday on Saturday “following reports of an assault”.

“Officers spoke to both people involved who gave a different version of events. There were no independent witnesses and no injuries thus no official report was made,” the police spokeswoman said.

Western Australian senator Fatima Payman, who quit Labor in 2024 citing irreconcilable differences between the ALP’s stance on Palestine and her views, was at the Brunswick polling station on Saturday and posted a video showing police talking to both Hinds and el-Wazani.

“We see cops come in who were called by Peter Khalil and Labor staffers to essentially take down a sign that they didn’t like. I mean, so much for freaking democracy,” Payman says.

“There was no threat. There was nothing that warranted police to be involved. These were just pro-Palestinian activists who wanted their sign up.”

On Monday, el-Wazani returned with the sign, but no altercations occurred while The Age was present.

In the few short weeks covering Bruce, I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on petrol (not to mention tolls) making the commute from the city each day.

Public transport through the electorate is woefully inadequate, so the car remains the key way people get around.

This might explain why Liberal candidate Zahid Safi has been leaning so heavily on the party’s promise to cut the fuel excise in half for 12 months, reducing petrol prices by 25 cents a litre.

Safi has made a habit of posting videos and photos from the bowser, most recently with deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley, claiming the policy will have “immediate cost of living relief…saving the average household up to $1500 a year on fuel.”

Blue corflutes are sprinkled around the streets of Bruce, promoting the policy too: “Every litre, 25c cheaper by voting for the Liberals.”

So, I decided to see if the promised fuel saving was having the desired impact on voters.

I drove to a petrol station in Endeavour Hills early one weekday last week, arriving just before 8am hoping to catch the peak hour commuters, to inquire about the impact of the Liberal’s key policy.

Most said they hadn’t heard of it, but in any event, said 25 cents per litre saved wouldn’t influence their vote.

Rachel Walter from Endeavour Hills said she had “vaguely” heard of the Liberal party’s petrol policy but when asked whether this would shift her vote, she said: “Not for me.”

“I think there are bigger issues,” she said. “The cost of everything has gone up. You can’t even buy something for five bucks at the shop anymore. Feeding a family is really hard.”

Walter said she hadn’t decided who to vote for yet, but had typically voted Labor. “I’ll have to speak with my husband,” she said.

A man, who did not want to be named, said the fuel policy had no impact on his vote.

“I voted Labor all my life, they used to be different from Liberals,” he said. “But nowadays, it’s all muddled.”

He said the fuel tax was irrelevant because prices swing so wildly that 25 cents wouldn’t make a major difference, and issues like crime, cost of living and Gaza were more important to him.

“I’m a peace activist,” he said. “They both seem to be backing the wrong horse. Neither seem to be interested in peace.”

He said there needed to be tougher penalties for crime, which he said was getting worse in the area.

The man, who was from Somali background, was still an undecided voter but said he could not back Dutton.

“He made inflammatory comments in 2018,” he said. “Everybody has got their bad eggs, but the community remembers those words. He’s also a big ally of Israel. At the end of the day, one death is too much, but you have 60-70,000 people who have died.

“For me, Dutton is unvote-able,” he said. “But Albanese is not much better.”

Reza Hussain, who was having his first coffee and still waking up, said he had always voted Labor but “might” consider switching to Liberal over the petrol cut, if it was combined with other cost-of-living measures.

“Even two cents or three cents makes a difference,” he says. “I met Julian Hill personally, he’s a good guy, speaks well.”

Vanessa Johnson had a “few seconds” to speak, while she filled up on her way to work as a teacher in Noble Park. Johnson was aware of the Liberal’s fuel policy but said it wouldn’t change her decision to vote Greens.

“As a 25-year-old, my HECS debt is through the roof, I work full-time as a teacher, whilst also doing my masters, whilst also working one day as a barista and I still can’t afford shit,” she said, laughing. “I know they can’t get very far but I always vote Green.”

She grew up in Berwick and said her friends vote Greens too, over frustration with the major party’s failure to help her generation.

“I feel like no one is listening to the younger generation,” she said. “Since I’ve been 18, we’ve gone round and round in circles and everything keeps going up and up and up.”

“I would like to start a future, finding a partner, kids and everything, but for me…I can’t imagine how I can afford to have kids and give them a good life.”

Tiernan White said “obviously gas prices would be great lower” but he was unconvinced about the Liberal’s other policies.

The 25-year-old Crown Casino table operator drives from Doveton into the city for work each day, and while fuel is a big cost for him, the policy wouldn’t change his vote.

“What I’ve seen, Peter Dutton does not seem like the correct person to be at the front of Australia at the moment,” he said.

He cited the cost of living and medicine costs being key issues for him.

White was unconvinced Dutton has a “grasp” on the housing crisis, citing the opposition leader’s vast personal property portfolio, and said he was dismayed by his own recent efforts to buy a house.

Siraj Faleer, who was also in a rush while filling up, said he was voting Labor and the Liberal’s fuel policy wouldn’t change his mind.

He said Peter Dutton was a “warrior-type person”. “You can’t depend on him,” he said.

Faleer said Safi was a personal friend. “I know him because my daughter goes to the same class,” he said. “But I can’t vote for him, that’s politics.”

Harvey Norman employee and law student Blaise D’Sylva also hadn’t heard of the policy but it might impact his vote.

“If they were bringing down other costs, definitely,” he said. “Everything’s so expensive.”

Historically he said he’d followed his parents voting Labor, but was considering voting Liberal this time around – mainly due to frustration with former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews’ handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Another man, who didn’t want to be named, said he was on his way to vote early and the petrol policy had no bearing on his vote.

He wanted to avoid both major parties, and planned to vote for Fatima Payman’s Australia Voice party in the Senate and follow the Muslim Votes Matter recommendation in the house.

“I’m Muslim and so vote for Muslim Votes Matters, they have a list,” he said before driving off.