Astroturfers. Australia’s local elections the new battleground for the Israel lobby
Several months ago, residents in the Randwick LGA in Sydney’s East began receiving leaflets from a grassroots group called Randwick Voices Matter, encouraging them to join a campaign to stop a Greens Councillor from becoming the local Mayor.
In NSW, most Councils elect their Mayor every two years. When no group or party has a majority, Councillors form alliances to share the Mayoralty across the four-year term.
Randwick Council has been sharing its Mayoralty for more than two decades. This is because no group or party wins a majority. In the 2021-2024 term, Labor and the Greens shared the Mayoralty. In this term, Labor’s Dylan Parker has been Mayor for two years, and the position is expected to shift to Greens Councillor Clare Willington next Monday.
There is nothing corrupt or irregular about this. It is a result of Labor having five Councillors, the Liberals four and the Greens three.
There is nothing corrupt or irregular about this. It is a result of Labor having five Councillors, the Liberals four and the Greens three.
But the Randwick Voices leaflet is designed to alert voters to what it terms a ‘stitch-up ’, a decision imposed on them that they did not vote for. Residents are warned that a Greens Mayor will be able to institute “Greens activism, policies or political positions … on issues well beyond local council business”.
However, while the Mayor can set the tone and introduce motions, policies are set by majority vote of Council.
Nowhere in the leaflet or website do you find the words Gaza, Palestine or Israel. But this is what the campaign is about. It is not that the Greens do not address local issues; the problem is that they support Palestinian rights and are strongly opposed to NSW Premier Minns’ anti-protest laws.
Philipa Veitch’s Gaza stance
Philipa Veitch has been elected a Councillor three times since 2017 and was Mayor from 2023 -2024. Over this time, she has moved hundreds of motions about local matters. But in her term as Mayor, The Greens also unsuccessfully moved a motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, following City of Sydney’s successful passing of a similar motion.
Veitch is unashamedly pro-Palestinian and has said that “as a person, a human and as an elected councillor I am entitled to express my opinion about the genocide and war crimes being committed by the Government of Israel. I am proud to stand up for the people of Palestine, along with the hundreds of thousands of other community members who have been
calling for a ceasefire and an end to the genocide in Gaza.”
Veitch’s actions upset some of the LGA’s 4% Jewish residents, many of whom are pro-Israel, as well as other more conservative voters. But her motions have been strongly supported by others, including Palestinian Australian residents and some anti-Zionist Jewish residents who spoke at meetings in support of the Greens’ motions.
A Zionist resident from neighbouring pro-Israel Waverley LGA organised a campaign of ‘code of conduct’ complaints against Veitch, which were dismissed after preliminary investigation.
As Randwick as Queensland
Given that the leaflet and a website are promoted as a “Local Resident initiative”, residents who notice may be surprised that they are authorised and supported by Joshu Turier of the Minority Impact Coalition (MIC) based at a Brisbane address. This is the same MIC which shares an address and overlapping directors with the Australian Cohesion Forum.
https://michaelwest.com.au/astroturfers-australias-local-elections-the-new-battleground-for-the-israel-lobby/