A national campaign called "the Muslim vote" is set to announce its first candidates for two safe Labor seats in western Sydney. The campaign says the government has been weak on the Palestinian issue and warns Muslim voices should not be taken for granted.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00It's sentiments like these that are fueling the Muslim Vote campaign.
00:06Muslims should vote to get the prime minister out from whatever he's doing, because this
00:11genocide is still happening.
00:12They're not standing up for Palestine as much as we would expect them to.
00:16So they're not really meeting our requirements.
00:21Sydney Imam Sheikh Wissam Sharqawi says the campaign has one goal.
00:25To unify the Muslim Vote on the issue of Gaza and Palestine and justice.
00:33The plan is to support independent candidates who champion the Palestinian cause.
00:38Their first targets include Education Minister Jason Clare's Western Sydney seat of Blacksland,
00:44with almost 32% Muslim voters, and Employment Minister Tony Burke's seat of Watson, where
00:50Muslims make up around 35% of the electorate.
00:54The campaign could also target seats in Melbourne, like Calwell, where close to a quarter of
00:59voters are Muslim.
01:01We want our voices heard.
01:02Labour hasn't echoed our voices.
01:05And should they be punished for that?
01:06I think as an end result, I think they should be.
01:08Muslim Vote endorsed candidates could be announced as early as next week.
01:12They're counting on Muslim voters from places like this, Bankstown in Western Sydney, to
01:17vote as one bloc.
01:19I was born in this country.
01:20I have never ever seen an issue that's garnered 100% support of a community like the crisis
01:27in Gaza.
01:28Highly unlikely.
01:29A lot of them have a lot of different beliefs.
01:32Most of them don't think the same, don't go to the same mosque or live in the same areas.
01:37They have to lose.
01:38They shouldn't be allowed to win in the next election.
01:40There has to be a vote to defeat them.
01:43A warning about how community anger could play out at the ballot box.