Better Australia accuses ABC of bias over election abuse claims

A grassroots organisation has accused the ABC’s 7:30 program of refusing to report on alleged antisemitic abuse at polling stations during the recent federal election, claiming the broadcaster has “reversed victim and offender”.

Better Australia spokesperson Sophie Calland said the organisation provided video evidence of racist incidents to 7:30 but the program declined to cover them. “It was traumatic for our volunteers to experience such levels of racism and antisemitism at polling stations,” Calland said.

“All accounts including video evidence were provided to the ABC’s 7:30 when Better Australia was contacted. The ABC declined to report on these horrific instances of abuse and ran with an extremely one-sided third party campaign wrap up.”

Calland accused the broadcaster of having “reversed victim and offender, which is all we have seen from their coverage on Australia’s antisemitism crisis”.

The non-partisan organisation, which campaigned against the Greens and Teal candidates across multiple seats, has made five formal complaints to the Australian Electoral Commission about volunteer behaviour and said it called police three times during the election period.

One incident involved a Greens volunteer in Wentworth who told a Jewish descendant of Holocaust survivors “Hitler Hitler Hitler … now I know what makes you tick”, while Teal volunteers allegedly laughed. Another Teal volunteer allegedly told a Better Australia volunteer to “go back to South Africa”.

Other alleged incidents included a Teal volunteer telling a Jewish volunteer that campaign A-frames were “going to kill someone, just like you kill children in Gaza” and another intimidating two teenage female volunteers aged 14 and 15.

The AJN on Tuesday spoke to individuals who say they witnessed several of the events. The AJN was also provided with an audio recording where a volunteer seemingly admits to making the A-frame comment. The AJN was told by a Jewish community member that the father of the two young females – who are not Jewish – emailed Member for Wentworth Allegra Spender’s office at the time.

Better Australia also claims a volunteer was physically assaulted in Paddington after the alleged assailant saw the victim’s Star of David.

The AJN does not suggest any of the alleged incidents are a reflection on Spender.

In Goldstein, an Australian Jewish man of Middle Eastern background was allegedly told by a Teal supporter, “Why are you helping these dirty Jews?”

Calland said volunteers faced daily harassment designed to cause upset, including unauthorised photographs and comments about the Holocaust. “Everyone deserves to participate in our democracy peacefully, without fear, and without continued vilification,” she said.

A campaign spokesperson for Spender said antisemitism has no place in Australia, and she has “consistently worked to fight it”.

“All our volunteers went through a rigorous training process that emphasised being well prepared to share a positive and polite message. There was no tolerance for antisemitism in our campaign or our office,” the spokesperson said.

“We did not receive any complaints from Better Australia during the campaign and have no record of the email you refer to. If we are presented with any evidence we will of course go back to the volunteers on this, as well as respond to any AEC inquiries.”

Spender said, “I am very proud to have been re-elected as MP for Wentworth and will do my utmost to represent the whole community, no matter who they supported at the election.

“Since I was first elected in 2022, I have worked tirelessly against antisemitism. I know that Wentworth does not want to see rising antisemitism, negative politics, or social division, and I will continue to make strengthening community cohesion my top priority.”