Lunchtime is busy at a Broadmeadows shopping centre in Melbourne’s north-west, not far from Tullamarine airport.
The food court is buzzing, and long lines are snaking away from Gloria Jean’s cafe, the kebab shop, and the Middle Eastern bakery Zet & Zaatar.
But for some Australians, a food court lunch has become a rare treat, as voters cut spending on even the essentials.
SBS News spoke to a group of young Muslim women at Nando’s who were there to celebrate a friend’s birthday.
They are feeling disaffected about
Shoppers are spending less on food amid a cost of living crisis. Source: SBS News
“They’re all useless,” the birthday girl said.
A second woman said she doesn’t vote. “I’m registered, but I don’t vote for any of them, I don’t want to engage.”
Asked if independent candidates have any more appeal than the major parties, a third woman told SBS News: “They’re all just as bad as each other. People can’t afford to eat, so what’s the point?”
The group are all registered to vote in the electorate of Calwell, in Melbourne’s north-west.
It’s a safe Labor seat held by a margin of over 12 per cent.
Created in 1984, Calwell has only ever had two MPs — both of them And after holding office since 2001, current MP Maria Vamvakinou is retiring this year.
SBS News has contacted Labor’s new candidate Basem Abdo for comment.
Labor’s climate change minister Chris Bowen held a press conference in Broadmeadows early this month to talk about the party’s solar batteries scheme.
“Today is not just about cleaner energy, but cheaper energy,” Abdo told reporters, adding that “bill busting” was important to his community.
Story of electorate is one of ‘neglect’
According to the most recent Census data, nearly a quarter of Calwell’s population is Muslim and less than half of its population was born in Australia.
Independent candidate for Calwell, Samim Moslih, spoke to SBS News at a candidate exchange hosted by SBS at the Broadmeadows shopping centre on Wednesday. He said the story of Calwell is one of “neglect, neglect, neglect”.
“If you don’t vote for the party that’s in power, you don’t get anything. And if you vote for the party that is in power and it’s not a marginal seat, you don’t get anything, but you’re paying taxes through and through,” he said.
Independent candidate for Calwell Samim Moslih at an SBS voters’ exchange event. Source: SBS News / Madeleine Wedesweiler
Moslih, who was born in Afghanistan, said he has received legal advice confirming he has made satisfactory steps to renounce his Afghan citizenship.
The when One Nation senator Pauline Hanson questioned Senator Fatima Payman’s eligibility to sit in parliament for having Afghan citizenship. Payman, at the time, said she had taken reasonable steps to renounce her citizenship but was unsuccessful because the embassy had no contact with the Taliban government.
Moslih points out Calwell has a population of over 200,000.
“We don’t have a 24-hour hospital with an emergency department. We don’t have a university campus,” he said.
“We’ve got a young girl who’s travelling one and a half hours just to get to class — a new uni student who’s getting to class.
“She’s cooked before she’s even starting to actually learn anything.”
Not enough being done to combat Islamophobia
Pollsters have tipped Labor could lose voters who strongly oppose its policies in relation to Israel’s war on Gaza, as was .
Moslih said the major parties’ failure to call the conflict a genocide amounts to “emotional neglect”.
A United Nations special committee, Amnesty International and a South African delegation at the International Court of Justice , which Israel denies.
Samim Moslih is the independent candidate for Calwell. Source: Supplied / Samim Moslih
Moslih accused the government of not doing enough to combat Islamophobia, which he said is “spreading like a cancer”.
“We’ve got that is lost in the wilderness. There’s a report that he’s putting together, while we are living Islamophobia day in day out, our women are being attacked,” Moslih said.
“I will be the voice and an unapologetic voice forcing the change that we need because this silence is what is causing the problem.”
The local Greens candidate Ravneet Garcha is also trying to appeal to the Muslim vote in the area.
Announcing her campaign in February, Garcha singled out “fighting for Palestine” as one of her top three priorities if elected, alongside fighting for renters and getting dental into Medicare.
If elected, she would become the first Punjabi candidate to represent the electorate, where the community is growing at a steady rate.
But a source with knowledge of the campaigns told SBS News the Victorian Greens are focusing most of their energy on the nearby seat of Wills, held by Labor candidate Peter Khalil.
Candidates trying to appeal to diverse community
Outside the Broadmeadows shopping centre, local man Andy said he doesn’t like politics, doesn’t want to talk about it, and doesn’t want to vote, but he will because he has to.
The things that concern him most are getting support for his friend and support for the Assyrian community.
Andy (left) said he “doesn’t do politics” but wants respect to be shown to the Assyrian community. Source: SBS News / Madeleine Wedesweiler
It’s a community is trying to appeal to.
The Liberal candidate for Calwell, Usman Ghani, announced this week an elected Liberal government would invest a $2 million into building an early childhood centre at the St George Assyrian Church of the East.
He also fronted a press conference alongside on day four of his electoral campaign, to announce $1.5 billion in extra money for the Melbourne Airport Rail Link.
The airport is located just outside the southern border of the electorate.
The Liberal candidate for Calwell, Usman Ghani (pictured on the right of the signboard), fronted a press conference with Opposition leader Peter Dutton to announce $1.5 billion in extra money for the Melbourne Airport Rail Link. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
Meanwhile, Family First candidate Maria Bengtsson told her party’s priorities are protecting children and also freedom.
“Freedom of speech, freedom for your choice,” she said.
“It’s not on government to tell me what to do. I know what is best for me and my family really and I care very much so I want people to know that freedom is very important.”
Aaron Qin, chair of the Australian Commerce and Culture Foundation, said the Chinese community in Calwell is mainly concerned about the cost of living and health care. Source: SBS News / Madeleine Wedesweiler
Aaron Qin, chair of the not-for-profit Australian Commerce and Culture Foundation, has been trying to engage the area’s Chinese community in voting.
He said his community is concerned primarily about cost of living measures and health care.
“I think most of the people don’t understand what is going on. [The government and Opposition] haven’t delivered a clear message,” he said.
“They say , but how is that going to help the local people?”
‘It’s so important to vote’
While some voters are confused and many are feeling apathetic, others recognise the importance of voting and feel proud to cast their vote.
The Australian Electoral Commission announced earlier this month a record 98.2 per cent of eligible voters had enrolled for this year’s election, representing a 5 per cent increase on 2022.
An elderly Vietnamese couple who spoke to SBS News said they had already voted after their son took them to an early voting centre on Wednesday.
“When we came to Australia in 1985, we didn’t want to vote and we didn’t know who to vote for.
“But it’s so important to vote.”
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