Dr Ziad Basyouny announces he will challenge Tony Burke in the seat of Watson, declaring independents are ‘coming’ for Labor

Labor minister Tony Burke will face a major contest to retain his seat, with a popular local GP deciding to run as an independent, saying the “Palestinian issue … was the nail in the coffin.”

An independent running against Tony Burke in the western Sydney seat of Watson at the federal election has criticised both sides of the Hamas-Israel war, saying “as a doctor, as a Muslim … I condemn attacking civilians in any shape or form, from whatever backgrounds they are.”

Doctor Ziad Basyouny declared his candidacy at a media conference in a Greenacre park this morning, with supporters of The Muslim Vote movement watching on.

Within days, Dr Basyouny is likely to be endorsed by The Muslim Vote, which is rallying support against Mr Burke, saying he has not “condemned Israel by name for its war crimes in Gaza.”

According to The Muslim Vote website, one in four people in Watson are Islamic.

“The Muslim Vote alone is capable of forcing the current government into minority,” the movement’s site says.

Dr Basyouny, 44, said he had lived in the area for nearly all of the past two decades but had never seen Mr Burke “walk the streets.”

Dr Ziad Basyouny in Greenacre on Tuesday. Picture: NewsWire

Mr Burke, who is now Home Affairs and Immigration Minister, has been the local MP since 2004.

At the 2022 poll, he won the seat with more than 50 per cent of first-preference ballots.

But Dr Basyouny said independent Dai Le’s victory over Labor’s Kristina Keneally in the neighbouring seat of Fowler showed “what can be done” by independents across Australia.

“If you do not change, we’re coming for you,” he said.

“I’m running for the seat of Watson because I believe our community deserves better.

“I’ve seen first-hand the things that we’re facing, whether it’s the rising cost of living, the housing crisis, the lack of infrastructure, the lack of investment in education and health, and the failure of our … member to represent … the values that are being practised here in the community regarding human rights and what’s happening in Gaza.

“Forty thousand people, probably more, have died, have been killed. This has been called a plausible genocide by the ICJ” being the International Court of Justice.

“Yet our government, our MP, are unable to talk about it in Parliament,” Dr Basyouny said. “How can this be called representation?”

“I will not shy away from these conversations, because our community deserves someone who will speak the truth.

“My candidacy is not a protest candidacy. It’s rather a response to the ongoing failures in cost of living, health, housing and infrastructure, and obviously the Palestinian issue … was the nail in the coffin.”

Asked if he condemned the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7 last year, Dr Basyouny replied: “As a doctor, as a Muslim, as a human, as a person who carries his conscience wherever he goes, I condemn attacking civilians in any shape or form, from whatever backgrounds they are.”

Dr Basyouny said he voted Labor in the lower house at the last election and for the Greens in the Senate. He was living in the northwest Sydney seat of Mitchell at the time because one of his children was attending a specialist school for autism.

Tony Burke during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire

Asked why he voted Labor, he said: “At that time, the message that came from Labor was aligned with what I was happy with. I saw we needed a change from Scott Morrison’s (Coalition) government. We needed some change after some of the failures during … Covid and at that point, Albanese showed the courage to talk about the things that were important. Now, Albanese and Labor are pathologically unambitious.”

Dr Basyouny, who is a Sunni Muslim, said he was seeking the endorsement of everyone in Watson, not just The Muslim Vote. The father of four said he hadn’t had a meeting with anyone from the movement although a “common friend” he would not name had asked whether he would consider running.

“I’m a candidate for everyone in Watson, whether that’s a Muslim vote, a Jewish vote, a Christian vote, Hindu vote, a Bengali vote, Vietnamese vote,” he said.

Mr Burke’s office has been contacted for a response to Dr Basyouny’s criticisms.
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