Anthony Albanese’s enforcer Tony Burke has executed one of the more brazen pre-election acts, moving to protect Labor mates in vulnerable western Sydney seats by fast-tracking thousands of new citizens and voters in key electorates.
With Labor MPs under threat of independent, Muslim Vote and Liberal challenges in seats spreading from Parramatta to the Blue Mountains, the Home Affairs Minister has made a calculated decision that growing the voter pie could work in the government’s favour.
Burke’s citizenship blitz for 12,852 new Australians – just over three weeks after Australia Day and six-to-seven weeks before a likely early April election – smacks of Labor attempts to win “thank you” votes from thousands of new citizens in battleground electorates.
The government is banking on goodwill from the new Aussie cohort, dominated by citizens originating from India (2365), New Zealand (1929), Britain (853), Philippines (581), China (556), Pakistan (396), Vietnam (381) and Afghanistan (289).
While Labor doesn’t know if all the new citizens would vote for them, they do know that Sydney seats including Fowler, Parramatta and Gough Whitlam’s former electorate of Werriwa could come down to a few hundred votes. The ALP is also expecting big swings against Cabinet ministers in safe seats.
Burke’s invocation of a citizenship “backlog”, which totals just under 50,000, and mocking of critics for whingeing and not being patriotic is a diversion. Whatever backlog exists and the timing of 25 special department-hosted ceremonies between February 17 and March 4 is overseen by the Albanese government.
Criticism from Western Sydney mayors should be given credence given their councils organise the bulk of citizenship ceremonies year-in, year-out. They increasingly believe Labor has rested on its laurels because of expectations western Sydney voters will automatically vote for them.
Voters in Fowler, who delivered one of the shocks of the 2022 election after backing Dai Le and ending Labor dominance in the electorate, shouldn’t forget Albanese endorsed parachute candidate Kristina Keneally over Vietnamese-Australian lawyer Tu Le, who this time around will be the ALP candidate. The decision to pick Keneally, one of the most unpopular NSW premiers in modern history, highlighted Labor’s arrogant approach towards western Sydney communities.
Weeks out from the election, it is important to remember commitments made by Labor Cabinet ministers and MPs to better reflect the interests of their constituents after a majority of western Sydney voters rejected the same sex marriage vote and Indigenous voice referendum. This trend was also reflected in outer-suburban Melbourne seats, where many Labor MPs do not reflect the demographics of their electorate.
The 2017 same sex marriage postal survey revealed substantial No votes in Burke’s seat of Watson (69.6 per cent), Fowler (63.7 per cent), Jason Clare’s electorate of Blaxland (73.9 per cent), Chris Bowen’s McMahon (64.9 per cent), Andrew Charlton’s Parramatta (61.6 per cent), Anne Stanley’s Werriwa (63.7 per cent), Michelle Rowland’s Greenway (53.6 per cent), Ed Husic’s Chifley (58.7 per cent), Jerome Laxale’s Bennelong (50.2 per cent) and Barton (56.4 per cent), where Linda Burney is retiring.
The 2023 Indigenous voice referendum also delivered majority No votes in Watson (57.95 per cent), Fowler (60.18 per cent), Blaxland (61.75 per cent), McMahon (65.89 per cent), Parramatta (54.64 per cent), Werriwa (63.23 per cent), Greenway (57.01 per cent), Chifley (59.57 per cent), Bennelong (51.41 per cent) and Barton (54.97 per cent).
On same sex marriage and the Indigenous voice, Labor MPs did not align with the majority of voters in their working-class, multicultural and aspirational electorates.
Burke, who would likely be the unions’ pick as leader if Albanese loses to Peter Dutton or is forced out post-election, is a lifelong political staffer and union official who was slotted into safe Labor state and federal seats in his early 30s.
As the member for Watson, the 55-year-old represents diverse Lebanese-Australian, Chinese-Australian and Greek-Australian communities in suburbs including Lakemba, home to the nation’s biggest mosque, Punchbowl, Greenacre and parts of Bankstown
While most Labor Cabinet ministers have considerable buffers, some inside the ALP fear that the election of Dai Le in Fowler could be a precursor for a new political order in western Sydney.
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