The recent election: more evidence about the Jewish vote
In the article I posted here a day or two ago, I tried to examine the Jewish vote at the 18 May federal election, using as evidence the postal votes in the seat of Wentworth in NSW.
Professor Bill Rubinstein
More evidence is now available about how the Jewish community voted in two heavily Jewish seats in Melbourne, Macnamara and Goldstein, where the postal vote breakdowns have now become available online.
Macnamara, formerly known as Melbourne Ports, was Michael Danby’s seat for twenty years prior to his recent retirement. It includes the heavily Jewish areas of Balaclava, Ripponlea, and Caulfield, and almost certainly is the home of more Orthodox Jews than any other constituency in Australia. It is also unusual in being a seat where three parties have a chance to win. The Greens do unusually well in Macnamara, presumably on the basis of the many trendies and yuppies who live near Port Philip Bay. At Saturday’s election, Josh Burns (ALP) received 33 per cent of the primary vote, Kate Ashmor (Liberal) 36 per cent of the primary vote, and Steph Hodgins-May (Greens) 25 per cent, with Burns winning after preferences. Both Burns and Ashmor are Jewish, while Hodgins-May has been widely criticised in Jewish sources for her support of the Palestinians.
Almost certainly, a very high proportion of Macnamara’s postal voters are Jews, especially from the large Charedi community in East St. Kilda. The breakdown by party of the postal votes in Macnamara is also very striking: Ashmor 908, Burns 359, Hodgins-May 158. As with Wentworth in Sydney, it seems a reasonable inference that most Jews voted for the Liberal candidate.
Goldstein holds the heavily Jewish area of Caulfield South, as well as Bentleigh, which has a large and growing Jewish population. It is a safe Liberal seat, where Tim Wilson was re-elected with 58.3 per cent of the two-party preferred vote. He was opposed by Dan Pollock (ALP) and Sue Pennicuik (Greens). The postal vote breakdown in Goldstein was as follows: Wilson 1672, Pollock 574; Pennicuik 160. Again ̶ although with somewhat less certainty ̶ it seems likely that a clear majority of that constituency’s Jewish population voted for the Coalition.
AEC data shown that in Macnamara Ashmor got over 900 postal votes while Burns got over 300 postal votes. While counting will continue Burns will be elected on Greens preferences as usual like Danby was for successive past elections. However some data shown that about 1/3 of Greens preference vote go to the Liberals despite the HTV card of the Greens. Minor parties and independents had a tiny number votes and did not really influence the overall result.
Not surprising Burns and anti Zionist greens bedfellows you can tell a person by the friends they keep I hope Burns is happy he has anti semite preferences to get him past a Jewish real Zionist advocate .
Thanks Bill for your update