Anthony Albanese has appealed to voters in Labor’s heartland seats in western Sydney not to dump the party over the war in Gaza, insisting his MPs are “working hard to deliver” practical improvements.
The leader of the house, Tony Burke, and the education minister, Jason Clare, are among the Labor MPs considered to be vulnerable to campaigns run by new groups known as The Muslim Vote and Muslim Votes Matter.
The groups have said it is wrong to characterise them as political parties, but that they are grassroots campaigns to mobilise voters of the Islamic faith who they say have been taken for granted for too long. They are pressing the government to take a stronger line against Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Targeted areas include Burke’s seat of Watson and Clare’s seat of Blaxland, where the percentage of the electorate that identifies as Muslim exceeds Labor’s winning margin at the 2022 election.
Albanese sought to reach out to dissatisfied voters when he was asked on Thursday whether he was worried western Sydney Labor MPs could be defeated by the fledgling campaigns.
The prime minister said his MPs were “working hard to deliver” tax cuts and urgent care clinics. He said the government’s expansion of fee-free Tafe places was “making a difference in western Sydney”.
“These are all measures that people care about in western Sydney and in areas like this as well,” Albanese said during a visit to the LNP-held seat of Forde in south-east Queensland.
He said Australia had “a secular democracy” and it was not “in the interests of groups to isolate themselves through just that issue”.
Albanese said his government included Muslim and Jewish ministers, reflecting “our multicultural community and our diversity”.
The government services minister, Bill Shorten, also attempted to shore up Labor’s vote, saying “our track record in western Sydney is fighting for the underdog and that won’t change”.
“I think Australians of Muslim heritage are not one homogenous group, just like Christians are not one homogenous group,” Shorten said.
Fatima Payman, the senator for Western Australia who quit Labor last Thursday to serve as an independent, played down any suggestion that she might play a major role in mobilising the Muslim vote at the next election.
“I don’t intend on doing that, but more power and strength to as many communities out there who want their voices heard,” she told The Conversation’s Politics podcast on Wednesday.
Payman could not speculate on the plans of the new groups, but added: “If I was to advise them, I’d say: don’t establish a Muslim party because you need to look at your broader base.”
The Muslim Vote and Muslim Votes Matter have been contacted for comment.
The Muslim Vote’s website says the movement is “powerful enough to sway the outcome of the next federal election (2024). The showdown will be in Southwest Sydney and Melbourne where there is a high density of Muslims in key areas. Watch this space.”
The group’s Instagram page links to a “30 second survey” about the seat of Blaxland, asking whether voters are satisfied with Clare’s stance on Palestine and whether they would be open to changing their vote or considering an independent candidate.
