Better than Burke?

By Jane Salmon

Still Standing: Dr Ziad Basyouny

Everyone knows that “safe” political seats can end up taken for granted. The Canterbury-Bankstown area has long been in Labor hands for all 3 levels of government by a very safe margin.

However, two candidates added unprecedented energy to local politics, while achieving the largest swings to independents in the entire federal election.

One of these is Dr Ziad Basyouny, who has addressed many prevailing Government policies with constructive policy proposals and drawn over 15 per cent of primary votes.

In a similar campaign, pharmacist Ahmed Ouf attracted 20% of the primary vote against incumbent Education Minister Jason Clare in neighbouring Blaxland, where redistribution added to the pressure on Labor.

Both candidates exemplified the self-funded Independent’s path to political relevance. They are accustomed to struggle.

Dr Basyouny addressed the widely recognised fact that local health services are under-resourced. He tackled the notion that Medicare bulk billing should be generalised now, (rather than in 5 years time as Labor proposes). He went further, echoing the Greens call for dental in Medicare.

Basyouny wants to see local workers’ tax dollars spent on services in the area, not rorts for richer areas.

So what would he cut or rationalise? He suggests recalibrating capital gains tax, negative gearing and mining subsidies.

Basyouny’s open support for Palestine and refugees attest to his courage and integrity.

The doctor demanded that Labor’s Immigration Minister Tony Burke take a more humane and coherent approach to the refugee issue and to protecting the people of Palestine.

Refugees are universally afraid of Burke’s power and not permitted to vote. Media interests supporting Israeli Zionist interests are far from meek.

As the Immigration Minister of a Government allied with the US, Burke has been far more circumspect on the subject. Bringing in a few Palestinian refugees won’t mask Australia’s overall compliance with Israel.

Tony Burke’s apparent interpretation of human rights for asylum seekers includes the creation of floating detention ships off Darwin. Then there is new scope for dawn deportations to dodgy third countries who may be able to force folk from vulnerable minorities back to danger in China, Myanmar or Iran.

Many in western Sydney are migrants and political literacy is still building. They still find Australian democracy and laws intimidating. That is, mild criticisms may be made, but few new voters dare oppose the prevailing political status quo. In multicultural electorates, any candidate advocating for reduced red tape and maximising business profit was undermined by Dutton’s anti-immigration noises. However, the Labor Party had echoed xenophobic commentary when responding to High Court cases of indefinite detention and while introducing some harsh new immigration measures last term. Thanks to Covid, the nation’s humanitarian intake is actually under the agreed target. Immigrants are still blamed for the effects of foreign student intakes and negative gearing on housing supply.

Sadly, some asylum seekers who made their “irregular maritime arrivals” or overstayed tourist visas over a decade ago, are still treated as unwanted inundation with fewer rights. Working and paying tax counts for nought. Their offspring, who had no say in the matter and grew up Aussie, still suffer from temporary visa status and restricted study options.

Offshore processing on Nauru, now a media black site, is back in operation. Critics claim deterrence not be so brutal.

The doctor’s community appeal extended across vastly split religious and ethnic lines in a culturally diverse electorate. Conservative christian communities are varied and numerous in western Sydney. Despite a huge margin, Burke promised millions of dollars to many.

Media had eyes on the tight margins in Werriwa and Parramatta too.

It is all too easy to stereotype Basyouny by ethnicity and religion. In this, media were encouraged by two supportive organisations: Muslim Votes Matter and The Muslim Vote. In the news, Sheikh Wassam Charkawi acted as a foil to Labor’s champion, the ubiquitous Dr Jamal Rifi.

However, Muslim groups vary and were openly divided over political allegiances, which major party to preference, how to appeal to people of other faiths and even whether to vote at all.

Labor has had many decades to build in Watson. They have the benefit of multi-layered incumbency. Basyouny did not have $50m to scatter like chook feed among influential institutions who could advocate for him. He was not backed by a Holmes a Court or mining baron. Yet, Basyouny garnered over a third of the 2PP vote from a standing start 8 months ago.

Basyouny gracefully withstood electoral skulduggery including 4 professional attacks (all waived), the alleged promise of a safe seat, negative rumour campaigns. It was impressive to be flyering alongside IT experts and medical specialists and bizarre to hear gossip they were paid. (Many of whom contributed dearly for the privilege of supporting global bulk-billing in Medicare. Doctors are not universally grasping).

Even when maintaining his role as a general practitioner from his bulk-billing GP clinic, Basyouny knocked on thousands of doors and wore out his own shoe leather. He committed his own money.

Passion for family seems to have countered some of the inevitable campaign burnout. Both Basyouny and Ahmed Ouf seem leaner and fitter for the experience, but had little to lure voters with … except their well-tested integrity. The doctor is a parent of three, one child having additional needs. He understands from personal experience the need to improve and extend local services: as does his ally Ahmed Ouf, whose son has a spinal injury. Their partners are graceful and stoic but the full load of maintaining family life during these expensive and time intensive campaigns has been borne by them.

At 7.30am on 5 March 2025, Basyouny was on his way to join volunteers (flyering the rail buses), and dressed in scrubs for his day job. The doctor encountered a road accident. Bystanders thought the driver of the crashed vehicle was already dead; having rolled his ute three times and hit a tree. The car was shredded. Dr Basyouny stabilised the man until paramedics arrived. Can anyone imagine some of our blearier political representatives managing any of that!

Given that he has worked at Emergency in Bankstown Hospital and has delivered babies in the area, it was no surprise that there were booths where Basyouny votes even outnumbered those for Burke. Funnily enough, his name means “abundance” is several languages.

Just as non-vegans are tempted by healthy organic produce, Basyouny’s energy and positivity also appealed to non-Islamic voters. Above all, he asked for better. It was this that drew voters away from the tried and tested.

Holding a balance of power has proven a pipe-dream in this electoral round, yet remains a future possibility.

We haven’t seen the last of Basyouny. He is still standing … and community pressure may even drive him to run again.

 

 

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