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.
“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. “Many of us are now actively considering alternatives.”
Goldstein MP Zoe Daniel pictured attending a Jewish community election forum earlier this month. Credit: Joe Armao
It claims that Daniel’s supporters are “an active participant in our decisions to uproot our families and leave”.
The letter writer claims they are “no way aligned to any political party” but states they have been taking an “active role” in the election.
“For us this is an existential election for the future of Jews in Australia,” it states.
The letter states that “the abundance of teal support” in the area makes the letter writer feel very unwelcome in the neighbourhood, in Victoria and Australia.
“Please also understand that irrespective of any mental justification, you are antisemitic and actively a participant in the way Jews are feeling at present,” it states.
It is signed, “Your Jewish Neighbour”.
Daniel and Liberal candidate Tim Wilson at the Jewish community forum last month.Credit: Joe Armao
Richard Rolfe is a volunteer on Daniel’s campaign and was one of the recipients of the letter.
He told ABC Melbourne this morning: “It’s more than a little unsettling to have those sort of allegations made anonymously. It was quite upsetting for myself and my wife, but I guess that’s what we get when we politicise people’s trauma and grief.”
Rolfe said when he put up corflutes for Daniel outside his house they were torn down.
“I’d like to have a conversation with the person who thinks that Zoe Daniel is somehow antisemitic, because I don’t see any evidence anywhere,” he said. “She’s only ever been incredibly supportive of the Jewish community.”
Daniel said the anonymous letters circulating in the electorate were “an appalling act of intimidation”.
“This politically motivated behaviour has no place in our democracy,” she said. “But this has not happened in isolation. I strongly condemn the Liberal Party’s weaponisation of Jewish trauma for political gain. Stoking fear to harvest votes is not the way to bring our community together.”
Daniel pointed to Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s recent comments when he said teals were Greens and “they’ve supported the antisemitic causes of the Greens”.
At the Jewish community forum earlier this month, at which Daniel and Liberal candidate Tim Wilson both spoke, Wilson described Climate 200, a major donor to Daniel, as “antisemitic” and called on her to “hand back that racist, antisemitic money”.
Daniel said antisemitism must be called out and stamped out.
“I will continue to work for that outcome,” she said. “I thank my supporters for their continued courage in supporting independent politics.”
Daniel Aghion, KC, President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), condemned the letter.
“Whoever drafted this cowardly and anonymous letter stands condemned,” he said. “The sitting member for Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, and her main challenger, Tim Wilson, both have a long record as staunch and vocal opponents of antisemitism. Any suggestion to the contrary is scurrilous and should be ignored.”
Aghion said Goldstein’s Jewish community had the opportunity to question and hear from both candidates at a recent Jewish community forum, and to gauge their written responses to the ECAJ’s questionnaire on key issues.
“Despite the fact that emotions have been running high in our community in the wake of the recent spate of antisemitic attacks, these exchanges have been conducted in a civil and dignified manner,” he said. “That is the standard we urge everyone to maintain, up to and including election day.”
A spokesman for Wilson and the Liberal Party said the Liberal Party was not involved in the letters in any way – and accused Daniel of a “concerning patten” of making “baseless claims”.
“The journalist of this story put the question to us if the letter is linked to the Liberal Party, when the authors clearly state in the letter, ‘We are in no way aligned to any political party’. The journalist said Zoe Daniel provided a statement to her that letters like this have not happened in isolation, yet the journalist did not provide us with any evidence to support this.”
The Liberal Party is staring down potential fines of up to $25,000 a day as it defies a local council crackdown on campaign signage at a busy Kooyong pre-polling site.
Despite warnings from the City of Boroondara, the Liberals today refused to remove dozens of signs promoting candidate Amelia Hamer outside an early voting centre in High Street, Kew – the only party/candidate not complying with strict new signage rules.
The council has ordered all parties to limit their advertising to a single A-frame sign outside the booth, citing safety, pedestrian access and amenity concerns. See my earlier post on this today.
Multiple corflutes for Kooyong’s Liberal candidate Amelia Hamer as seen at pre-polling on High Street, Kew.Credit: Chris Hopkins
The Liberal Party refused to fall in line and escalated the dispute this morning, issuing a legal threat via law firm Tisher Liner FC Law and demanding the signage rules be withdrawn by 3pm, or it would seek an injunction against the council in court.
That deadline came and went, and the council hasn’t budged. In fact, they’ve now issued their own legal letter via Maddocks lawyers back to the Liberal Party ordering them to comply by 5pm.
I note that under Boroondara’s local laws (clause 27.1 for those following along at home), the maximum penalty for displaying an advertising sign on public land without a permit is five penalty units, which works out to be about $500 per sign, per day.
There were at least 50 signs of Hamer’s on High Street today, so we’re talking about $25,000 per day, hypothetically.
But will the council actually follow through with a fine? Let’s wait and see.
It issued a statement a short time ago which said: “Council has received numerous complaints about the volume of advertising at the pre-polling station in Kew. Council’s focus is ensuring public safety, clear pedestrian access and amenity. This year, candidates were each issued a permit to display one A-frame sign outside the pre-polling location to achieve these aims.
“We will consider all applications for more advertising quickly and on their merits, but all signs displayed without a permit may be subject to the enforcement provisions available in the Local Law.
“We hope candidates understand this focus on public safety, access and amenity and will comply with these requirements.”
It also claimed all candidates were written to on March 13, and again in the first week of the campaign (the week starting March 31) informing them of the rules around signs – including this specific rule about needing a permit for a sign on public land.
It’s all a bit unclear as to why this rule – which pre-existed this election – wasn’t enforced all of last week during the first week of pre-polling (the Kew site has been busy for days!)
A council spokesman said it only acted after it received “numerous” complaints – and doesn’t enforce rules pro-actively.
It’s worth noting the one other pre-poll place in Kooyong on Glenferrie Road, Malvern, has seen no such crackdown. That polling place falls within the Stonnington local government area.
The Liberal Party’s original legal letter said it would seek an injunction if the council didn’t back down. I’ve asked them if they have now done so, but haven’t heard back yet.
Meanwhile, Kooyong’s reign of scandal also continues elsewhere.
Former premier of Victoria Jeff Kennett and Hamer.Credit: Instagram
Resident and former Liberal premier of this state, Jeff Kennett, was on radio station 3AW (owned by Nine Entertainment, which also owns The Age) a short time ago.
Kennett has Amelia Hamer signs on his front fence at home in Kooyong, and even he hasn’t been spared the scourge of vandalism.
My colleague Alexander Precious Darling wrote up the interview over on our daily national politics blog here.
Drive around the electorate of Bruce, and you’ll see corflutes popping up on roundabouts, public fences and poles – illegal under various laws.
City of Casey chief executive Glenn Patterson said council officers have seized 250 signs since the election was called – an increase compared with other elections.
“In those circumstances where we are unable to remove a sign due to safety risks, our team will take photos and follow up with infringements where appropriate,” Patterson said.
An example of a sign that has been reported to the council in Casey because of its location.
Another council source, who could not be named because they’re not authorised to speak publicly, said the council has been inundated with complaints from the public about illegal signs.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” they said. “One was in the middle of a roundabout, obstructing vision, put up overnight.
“People have even put signs on sporting clubs without the approval of the sporting club, and they call and say can we remove the sign,” they said.
The source said all parties had been guilty of illegal sign-posting, but the Liberal Party and One Nation were over-represented.
“We’ve sent out notices to all parties saying this is what the rules are, and then sent follow-up warnings, but they’re still putting signs out,” they said. “The rules are clear.”
Footage obtained by The Age shows two men in plain clothes tending to large corflutes for Liberal candidate Zahid Safi from a white van parked nearby on a rainy night. The location was opposite Bunjil Place in Narre Warren.
I sent the footage to the City of Casey who confirmed this was an illegally placed sign that has now been removed. The council also confirmed they have impounded signs from all parties and infringement notices have been issued, but they could not confirm which parties had been fined.
I also sent the video to the Liberal Party, but they did not address this.
Candidates from both major parties contesting Bruce have reported having signs defaced.
Defacing of corflutes is another problem causing issues in Bruce – and electorates around the countries – with voters reporting that corflute vandalism is on the rise.
I’ve seen posters from both major parties that have been vandalised with black spray paint or textas, and both candidates have called it out. Safi posted photos of his signs with black graffiti, or cut-outs last week.
“With pre-poll already under way, it’s disappointing to see my signs being destroyed at multiple locations over the past few weeks,” he wrote. “No one should be targeted for participating in our democracy.” Labor MP Julian Hill’s office has also received a record number of reports from constituents alerting them to defaced posters.
“Your poster on Heatherton Road near the shopping centre has been painted over with black paint,” one constituent wrote in an email, obtained by this blog. “Such despicable acts have never occurred before, and I loathe it.”
In a statement, a Liberal Party spokesperson addressed the defacing of signs and blamed Hill’s online commentary for rising tensions.
“The damage and defacement of Zahid Safi’s signs across the Bruce electorate is appalling, and an example of how low Labor is prepared to go this election.
“Labor MP Julian Hill’s continual use of inflammatory language and his unwillingness to condemn and take action on this offensive and disgusting behaviour is further evidence he has no interest in enhancing and protecting social cohesion in the Bruce community.”
Back now to Kooyong, we return to a story our colleagues Paul Sakkal and Cindy Yin reported on yesterday.
For those who didn’t see it, they reported that volunteers wearing Monique Ryan campaign T-shirts have been captured on video saying a community organisation, which has historical links to the Chinese Communist Party’s foreign influence operation, told them to vote for the teal MP.
In the footage, a woman says the instruction came from Ji Jianmin, who is the president of the Hubei Association, an organisation representing people from the Chinese province that has also been accused of working with the United Front Department, a Chinese government agency that advances CCP interests internationally.
Following on from this story, Sakkal has now reported that Australia’s election integrity watchdog has opened a probe into the video.
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 told Sky News.
She said she would co-operate with any investigation.
“I don’t want there to be any concerns about this, and in the interests of full transparency, I’ve contacted the AEC and the Department of Parliamentary Services and given them the details that I gave to The Age yesterday about my relationship with those volunteers and with Mr Ji and I’ve said, ‘look, if you’ve got any concerns, please investigate’.”
Read the full story here.
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.
“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. “Many of us are now actively considering alternatives.”
Goldstein MP Zoe Daniel pictured attending a Jewish community election forum earlier this month. Credit: Joe Armao
It claims that Daniel’s supporters are “an active participant in our decisions to uproot our families and leave”.
The letter writer claims they are “no way aligned to any political party” but states they have been taking an “active role” in the election.
“For us this is an existential election for the future of Jews in Australia,” it states.
The letter states that “the abundance of teal support” in the area makes the letter writer feel very unwelcome in the neighbourhood, in Victoria and Australia.
“Please also understand that irrespective of any mental justification, you are antisemitic and actively a participant in the way Jews are feeling at present,” it states.
It is signed, “Your Jewish Neighbour”.
Daniel and Liberal candidate Tim Wilson at the Jewish community forum last month.Credit: Joe Armao
Richard Rolfe is a volunteer on Daniel’s campaign and was one of the recipients of the letter.
He told ABC Melbourne this morning: “It’s more than a little unsettling to have those sort of allegations made anonymously. It was quite upsetting for myself and my wife, but I guess that’s what we get when we politicise people’s trauma and grief.”
Rolfe said when he put up corflutes for Daniel outside his house they were torn down.
“I’d like to have a conversation with the person who thinks that Zoe Daniel is somehow antisemitic, because I don’t see any evidence anywhere,” he said. “She’s only ever been incredibly supportive of the Jewish community.”
Daniel said the anonymous letters circulating in the electorate were “an appalling act of intimidation”.
“This politically motivated behaviour has no place in our democracy,” she said. “But this has not happened in isolation. I strongly condemn the Liberal Party’s weaponisation of Jewish trauma for political gain. Stoking fear to harvest votes is not the way to bring our community together.”
Daniel pointed to Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s recent comments when he said teals were Greens and “they’ve supported the antisemitic causes of the Greens”.
At the Jewish community forum earlier this month, at which Daniel and Liberal candidate Tim Wilson both spoke, Wilson described Climate 200, a major donor to Daniel, as “antisemitic” and called on her to “hand back that racist, antisemitic money”.
Daniel said antisemitism must be called out and stamped out.
“I will continue to work for that outcome,” she said. “I thank my supporters for their continued courage in supporting independent politics.”
Daniel Aghion, KC, President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), condemned the letter.
“Whoever drafted this cowardly and anonymous letter stands condemned,” he said. “The sitting member for Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, and her main challenger, Tim Wilson, both have a long record as staunch and vocal opponents of antisemitism. Any suggestion to the contrary is scurrilous and should be ignored.”
Aghion said Goldstein’s Jewish community had the opportunity to question and hear from both candidates at a recent Jewish community forum, and to gauge their written responses to the ECAJ’s questionnaire on key issues.
“Despite the fact that emotions have been running high in our community in the wake of the recent spate of antisemitic attacks, these exchanges have been conducted in a civil and dignified manner,” he said. “That is the standard we urge everyone to maintain, up to and including election day.”
A spokesman for Wilson and the Liberal Party said the Liberal Party was not involved in the letters in any way – and accused Daniel of a “concerning patten” of making “baseless claims”.
“The journalist of this story put the question to us if the letter is linked to the Liberal Party, when the authors clearly state in the letter, ‘We are in no way aligned to any political party’. The journalist said Zoe Daniel provided a statement to her that letters like this have not happened in isolation, yet the journalist did not provide us with any evidence to support this.”
Okay, so pre-poll antics in Kooyong have just ratcheted up another notch.
A legal stoush is brewing over the arms race of corflutes and signage proliferating at a pre-polling centre on High Street in Kew, with the Liberal Party now threatening to take Boroondara council to court. How did we get here?
Yesterday, Boroondara officers issued notices to all parties and candidates at the pre-polling centre, requiring them to complete a “Permit to Occupy Council Controlled Land for Trading Activities”. The permit would require them to display just one A-frame sign each.
If you’ve driven past recently, you’ll know signage has reached absurd levels — hundreds of metres of corflutes line both sides of High Street, alongside dozens (and dozens!) of campaign volunteers.
High Street is a major arterial road, complete with tram lines, so safety and traffic concerns are also in play.
Most campaigns appear to have agreed to comply — except for the Liberal Party.
When volunteers from other camps arrived this morning, here’s what they found: More than 50 Amelia Hamer/Liberal Party A-frames, umbrellas and corflutes flooding the zone.
Multiple corflutes for Kooyong s Liberal candidate Amelia Hamer as seen at pre-polling on High Street, Kew.Credit: Photograph by Chris Hopkins
Not only did the Liberals refuse to comply — they issued a legal threat to the council as well. A letter from law firm Tisher Liner FC Law, dated today and sent on behalf of the Victorian Division of the Liberal Party (a copy of which I’ve seen), argues that the council’s new permit system for political signage is unlawful.
The letter claims that Boroondara’s restrictions — including limits on the number of A-frames and campaigners per party — breach the implied constitutional freedom of political communication.
The party has demanded the council withdraw the rules by 3pm today or face urgent court action for an injunction and a declaration that the council’s actions are unlawful.
“The purported restrictions do not on their face appear to apply to participants in the political process other than political parties,” the letter says. “In view of the above, the restrictions are, at best, a poorly thought out and poorly executed attempt to regulate the conduct of political parties in the vicinity of polling booths. At worst, they are an attempt to hinder our client campaigning.“
Boroondara council officers were seen down at the site this morning, speaking with Liberal campaign managers.
I’ve contacted Boroondara for comment and will update when I hear back.
The Liberal camp argues they’re standing their ground because they believe Boroondara’s direction risks setting “an unacceptable precedent that could potentially be applied across all Victorian, and possibly national, Local Government areas.
They’ve also raised concerns that the council’s permit documents refer to “trading activities” — even though election campaigning obviously isn’t trading — and mention only “political parties,” not independents.
The implication? That Monique Ryan’s camp, as she’s not representing a registered political party, might be unfairly advantaged by the rules. Ryan’s camp have complied and set up just one A-frame today though.
Ryan said the council’s decision was “a fair and sensible approach”.
“With the limited space for walkway access, it’s a safety concern to have so much signage in such a small area close to schools and public transport,” she said in a statement.
“We want to ensure voters have a positive and safe experience. We cooperated with the council’s request as soon as we received it.”
Holy moly, watch this space.
With election day looming, campaigning has kicked into overdrive in Davies Street in Brunswick, home to the sole pre-polling booth in the Wills electorate.
Volunteers from every party were out in force last week, distributing how-to-vote cards and slapping up signs at the voting-queue entrance.
But on Monday, as the clock ticked down to election day on Saturday, the parties took it to the next level, particularly Labor members.
They plastered 162 corflutes (I counted), double stacked, on the fence around the voting centre, and inside where voters queue.
The Greens fired back with 101 signs, though they were clearly behind the game. Labor had already seized first-mover advantage, their people reportedly arriving around 5am.
Meanwhile, Liberal Party candidate and drummer Jeff Kidney is yet to be sighted in the electorate, perhaps explaining his paltry 10 signs, two of which languished on the ground behind fencing.
The uptick in signage follows the previously reported clash between a Labor staffer and a Muslim Votes Matter volunteer that saw Victoria Police called to the scene.
The altercation prompted the AEC to warn about escalating tensions and violence, as campaigning enters the decisive phase.
It seems our yellow-vested friends are back at it in Kooyong, undeterred by being reported to the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) last week.
Volunteers handing out anti-teal pamphlets were spotted at pre-polling in Malvern on Monday, wearing bright-yellow vests with “Community Advisor” printed on them.
As I reported last week, I spoke to one vest-wearing volunteer who said she was with Advance Australia. She removed her vest when I began asking questions.
Volunteers in Kooyong were handing out anti-teal pamphlets were spotted at pre-polling in Malvern on Monday, wearing bright yellow vests with ‘Community Advisor’ printed on them.
The AEC also made inquiries, after being tipped off by other candidates concerned that the yellow vests closely resembled the official vests worn by AEC staff, which have “AEC Supervisor” printed on them.
An official AEC staff member in the distinctive yellow vest.Credit: Simon Schluter
Despite volunteers identifying themselves as being linked to Advance Australia, another third-party group called Better Australia is claiming the credit.
An email to supporters, which has been forwarded to me, shows the group – established by Sophie Calland, a Labor Party member – is using the vests across the country.
The AEC says that because the vests have a “Better Australia” logo as well, no rules are being broken. But are the vests intended to look like AEC uniforms and confuse voters?
I’ve put that question to Sophie Calland and am awaiting a response. Until then, I’ll leave it to readers to make up their own minds.
While the Kooyong race has largely been the Monique Ryan and Amelia Hamer show, five other candidates have thrown their hats into the ring – representing Labor, the Greens, One Nation, the Libertarian Party and Clive Palmer’s Trumpet of Patriots.
I asked each minor candidate the same five questions in under 100 words, including what’s been overlooked in the campaign, why they’re running in a two-horse race, and where they’re directing preferences.
All responded, except for One Nation’s Camille Brache (who has been absent and unreachable).
Greens candidate Jackie Carter.Credit: Penny Stephens
Jackie Carter
Project manager, 39, lives in Balwyn.
David Vader
Designer and photographer, 37, lives in Camberwell.
Trumpet of Patriots candidate David Vader.Credit: Penny Stephens
Labor candidate Clive Crosby.Credit: Penny Stephens
Clive Crosby
Hospitality worker, 22, lives in Hawthorn
Libertarian Party candidate Richard Peppard
Dr Richard Peppard
Kooyong, neurologist, 70.
While it’s almost impossible for any of these four candidates to surpass Ryan or Hamer, their preferences will be extremely important.
Labor and Greens how-to-vote cards will send preferences Ryan’s way, while Hamer will benefit from the votes of the other three right-wing candidates.
Kooyong watchers will remember that in 2022, the Liberal incumbent, Josh Frydenberg, won 42.7 per cent of the primary vote to Ryan’s 40.3 per cent, but it was preference flows which pushed Ryan over the line (Frydenberg 47.8 per cent against her 52.2 per cent).
In Kooyong and Goldstein, the hundreds of volunteers for Monique Ryan and Zoe Daniel’s campaigns are co-ordinated by Slack and WhatsApp groups, powered by barbecues and pizza nights, and accommodated in offices painted in bright teal.
Over the weekend, Rachael Dexter and I reported from inside the teal campaign headquarters in both electorates, talking to the unpaid foot soldiers of the community independents’ movement who knock on doors, organise, create social media content, arrange corflutes and feed the troops.
Can the teals cement their position this election by winning a further term while holding true to their promise of a “new way” of doing politics?
You can read the full story here.
Well, I’ve somewhat recovered from the craziness of Kooyong last week – though I suspect it’s not the last of it as we sprint together towards the finish line.
Here’s a quick round-up of Kooyong news from over the long weekend.
Both Monique Ryan and Amelia Hamer attended Anzac Day services on Friday. A reader sent me this photo – unimpressed by Hamer’s use of a campaign card on the wreath.
Amelia Hamer’s wreath at an Anzac Day service.
The Liberal camp points out Ryan also had a sizeable card on her wreath (albeit, sans campaign headshot).
Monique Ryan’s wreath on Anzac Day.Credit: Instagram
It’s not hard to keep tabs on what Hamer’s been up to: she dutifully documents all appearances on Instagram.
A quick scroll through her socials shows she spent time with the Young Liberals (who are helping her campaign) at the Tower Hotel in Hawthorn – now something of a campaign hub, thanks to the gigantic anti-Monique Ryan placards plastered on the outside.
I’m told you can even buy matching stubby holders from behind the counter – featuring the infamous “77 per cent vote with the Greens” attack line (which I previously unpacked here as well as the phrase, “Monique, please DO NOT take this!”
Liberal Party stubby holders with anti-Monique Ryan messages.Credit: Rachael Dexter
If you know, you know. A little bird was generous enough to gift me one.
On Sunday morning, Hamer was unmissable, sitting prominently behind Opposition Leader Peter Dutton at his campaign rally in Melton.
Amelia Hamer was front row at Peter Dutton’s weekend rally in Melton.Credit: James Brickwood
Later that day, she appeared at a girl’s footy game (the Kew Rovers) at Stradbroke Park in Kew East and was also seen manning the bar at the Hawthorn Citizens Junior Football Club season launch.
Meanwhile, Ryan seemed largely focused on pre-polling and doorknocking, according to her campaign team. She was also busy rattling the tin.
On Saturday, an email emerged from Ryan’s office seeking urgent donations for a final advertising push, warning that the race could come down to just 200 votes.
In an email titled, “This is my final financial ask”, Ryan described her first week at pre-polling centres as facing “a scale of attack I never thought possible from groups like Advance Australia, Australians for Prosperity and Better Australia”.
She also noted the appearances of right-wing agitators at two forums she attended last week and “Repeal the Teals” campaigners at pre-polling.
“Co-ordinated, well-funded, and designed to mislead voters in the final stretch,” the email read.
“These attacks aren’t just coming from the Liberal Party. They’re coming from a powerful conservative ecosystem. I never wanted to have to make this final financial ask. But I need to.”
She urged supporters to help raise $20,000 within days to fund critical digital advertising campaigns – aiming to “cut through the noise, reach undecided voters, and tell them the truth”.
“We’re close – and with your help, we can finish strong.”
Ryan did have time out for some footy it seems. She was spotted in Carlton colours in the members’ area at the MCG on Sunday, to see the Blues overpower the Cats.
