Kouta visits St Kilda Shule as political campaign kicks off
Former AFL star makes Jewish community part of his political bid
Former AFL player Anthony Koutoufides has visited a synagogue as one of the first stops in his campaign for the federal seat of Melbourne.
He visited St Kilda Shule on Friday morning, and said he is placing community safety and combating antisemitism at the forefront of his political agenda.
The Carlton Football Club legend, who previously ran unsuccessfully for Lord Mayor of Melbourne, told The AJN that his choice of venue reflected his commitment to supporting all communities, particularly amid rising concerns about antisemitism.
“I know the antisemitism happening right now isn’t what Australia is all about,” Koutoufides said at the synagogue. “We have to accept that we are different backgrounds, different cultures, different nationalities and religions, and we must all respect each other.”
Koutoufides, commonly known as “Kouta” during his playing days, emphasised his personal connection to diversity issues, referencing his own upbringing as the child of migrants.
“I grew up with migrant parents, so I knew what it was like. I got called all sorts of names,” he said. “Every community needs to feel safe and that should be a number one thing that we should all understand and accept here in our country.”
Running as an independent in an attempt to topple Greens party leader Adam Bandt, Koutoufides acknowledged the challenge ahead but invoked sporting analogies to express his optimism about the campaign.
“Even in 1999, Carlton came up against Essendon, who were the unbeatables. On that day, they were able to get over the line and win by one point. Anything’s possible,” he said, referencing his playing career.
“I don’t look at the scoreboard. What I do is I continually work and let the scoreboard look after itself.”
The former footballer’s campaign follows his Lord Mayor bid last year, where he surprised many with his performance despite not winning.
“After the first day of counting, it was only Nick Reece and myself that could have won,” Koutoufides claimed, adding that many people appreciated “how hard I worked” during that campaign.
Koutoufides distanced himself from the Greens, whose leader, Adam Bandt, currently holds the seat of Melbourne, saying while he may have supported them in the past for their environmental stance, he believes “they’ve gone away from just about the environment” and now disagrees with many of their positions.
St Kilda Shule’s Rabbi Yaakov Glasman told The AJN, “It was an honour for St Kilda Shule to host Kouta, a legend of the game but also an absolute mensch. He’s been wonderfully supportive of the Jewish community and his fight against the social divides is most admirable.”
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