Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison made a visit to the Parklea Gurudwara Sahib in Sydney this week, to lend support to the local Liberal candidate Yvonne Keane and to denounce sitting labor MP Michelle Rowland, for her broken promise to the Sikh community.
While campaigning for the last federal elections in 2013, the then Labor candidate Michelle Rowland had promised a $750,000 funding to the Australian Sikh Association for improvements to the Parklea Gurudwara Sahib. This has now become a bone of contention in the electorate of Greenway, since the funding has not been made available and both major parties are blaming each other for it.
During his visit to the Parklea gurudwara sahib on Wednesday, June 29, Mr Morrison accused Ms Rowland “of waving a cheque” in front of the Sikh community and then breaking her promise. In response, Ms Rowland has told SBS Punjabi, “I am deeply disappointed the Liberal Party cut funding to the Australian Sikh Association after the 2013 election. This was one of over 400 projects abolished when Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull slashed the Liveable Communities and the Building Multicultural Communities programs, leaving communities across Australia $30 million worse off.”
Quite apart from this, Mr Avtar Singh Billu, an independent candidate from Greenway, has lodged a complaint with the Anti Discrimination Board “about racial abuse to our volunteers by Michelle Rowland Labor candidate from Greenway.” In a 3-page complaint, Mr Billu’s campaign administrator Kittu Randhawa has cited specific incidents which they believe are tantamount to racial vilification “by supporters of Michelle Rowland outside the polling booth on Main Street Blacktown.” One example cited is a comment allegedly made by a Labor supporter “
“don’t vote for that lot, they killed their own prime minister”
The complaint also cites a Facebook post by a worker of the Christian Democrats party. Mr Hardy Baker-Ross is quoted from his own Facebook post on Tuesday June 21, saying
”Never before have I heard a labor campaign worker so openly call an Indian a “curry muncher go back to your own country”.
According to Mr Kittu Randhawa, “These comments were made again in front of Michelle Rowland, but when asked about it, she claimed to ‘hear nothing’.”
Ms Rowland who is the current member for Greenwy and also Shadow minister for Citizenship and Multiculturalism , was contacted by SBS Punjabi for a comment on this complaint. In a written statement, we’ve been told“There is no place for violence, intimidation or offensive behaviour on polling booths. I have zero tolerance of such behaviour and have removed people from my own campaign when their behaviour has not met the appropriate standard. I expect the same standard of other candidates.”
When questioned by SBS Punjabi if any Labor party worker had been removed from campaigning, after Mr Billu’s complaint, Ms Rowland’s office was unable to make any statement. We also asked, if Labor party had made an official complaint about a video, where a supporter of Mr Billu allegedly threatened “to cut the throat” of a Labor supporter. SBS Punjabi is still awaiting a response from Ms Rowland’s office on that.
