Labor MP slams ‘intimidating’ behaviour by Liberal volunteers

Labor’s MP for the Sydney seat of Reid said the Liberal volunteer behaviour at polling booths was ‘aggressive’ and she says it was a voter turn off.

Sally Sitou pictured at Concord Community Centre. Picture: Rohan Kelly

A Labor MP who dominated Sydney’s inner west seat of Reid has accused the Liberal Party of “aggression” and “pretty intimidating behaviour” at polling booths, believing it contributed to her massive election victory.

Sally Sitou, who is leading by 21,000 votes over Liberal candidate Grange Chung, with a 62-38 two party-preferred, also said the Liberals took voters for granted by spending “huge amounts” on advertising in her electorate while having “no policies.”

The seat of Reid was one of several Sydney electorates where members of the mysterious Plymouth Brethren Christian Church were seen in large numbers providing “how-to-vote” cards for the Liberal Party.

“What we saw at polling booths was some pretty intimidating behaviour by some Liberal Party volunteers. And that’s something that I hope we never see at polling booths again,” Ms Sitou told The Daily Telegraph in Burwood.

“We can’t be sure, but my sense is that it really turned a lot of voters off. You can’t mask a lack of policies by just loudly yelling at people as they walk into a polling booth. That is not how you win votes. A huge amount of spending and posters do not cover up the fact that you have no policies to offer the community. I think that sort of aggression and antagonism has no place in our system,” she said.

Almost 25 per cent of voters in Reid are Chinese and Ms Sitou claimed Liberal frontbencher Jane Hume’s recent comments that ALP volunteers in Melbourne “might be Chinese spies” was “deeply damaging” and “deeply hurtful”.

She also said one in four voters in her electorate had a HECS-HELP education debt, and Labor’s promise to slash this by 20 per cent had resonated with a lot of voters.

“People were also concerned about their nuclear policy. I think there was deep scepticism about whether or not it would be possible or feasible to be delivered - the cost of it. We are also getting a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Burwood, and I was pleasantly surprised by how many people already knew about that,” she said.

Sally Sitou pictured at pre-poll in Concord. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Ms Sitou has won booths across Abbotsford, Ashfield, Burwood, Concord, Five Dock, Homebush, Rhodes and even the affluent suburb of Drummoyne.

One Drummoyne resident - John told this masthead on Monday he was “very pleased” with the election result.

“Dutton was a total failure. Nuclear is never going to get over the line in Australia,” John said.

“We have a great member here, Sally, she contacts us all the time. And that’s what counts.”

In Burwood, local El Brown said Ms Sitou had helped her with access to healthcare.

“I feel like in the community Sally has been visible with her office so accessible,” she said. “No matter what the question is, they are able to help at every step. Amazing customer service. They are always helpful… and very contactable. I’m so glad they are back in.”

Reid MP Sally Sitou with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and wife Jodie in Five Dock in the days before the election. Picture: Jason Edwards / NewsWire

Ms Brown noted “it was uncomfortable how much advertising there was… when I went to vote, I was asked to vote Liberal… it was everything blue. It was uncomfortable.”

The owner of Drummoyne’s Espresso 2047, John Christopoulos said the election feedback from customers was “all people have seen is trucks and billboards.”

“They haven’t seen some candidates in the community talking about local issues and what matters to them. It comes down to active local members. My customers say they didn’t see any active engagement in Reid” Mr Christopoulos said.

Ms Sitou had one final thought about how the votes fell in her favour on Saturday.

“My opponent Grange [Chung] is a lovely person, but when I was the candidate in 2022 I had doorknocked this electorate so much that I could tell you down to the suburb what issues they were concerned about,” she said.

“For the 2025 election I could tell you down to each street what people are concerned about.”

Originally published as Labor MP slams ‘intimidating’ behaviour by Liberal volunteers