The Greens candidate for Grayndler took part in a blockade of the Prime Minister’s electorate office, after it emerged the Labor Party will preference Anthony Albanese’s opponent.
Earlier this week it emerged Labor will direct voters to place Greens candidate Hannah Thomas in the number two slot in Mr Albanese’s safe seat in Sydney’s inner west on how-to-vote cards.
Ms Thomas in the past has claimed Israel was guilty of genocide, demanded the Australian government sanction the Jewish state and expel the Israeli ambassador.
Mr Albanese has claimed he did not know the name of his opponent and was not personally responsible for his preferences, in comments the Greens candidate has slammed as “arrogant”.
The Australian has now revealed Ms Thomas was part of a long-running protest outside Mr Albanese’s office mid-last year, during which he was temporarily forced to avoid the building due to security reasons.
The Prime Minister slammed the blockade as “appalling” at the time, declaring it had “no place in a democracy”.
When asked at a press conference on Wednesday why Labor placed the anti-Israel candidate second on its how to vote cards, the Prime Minister suggested he didn’t know the name of his Greens opponent.
“Why is The Australian determined to give the Greens such profile?” Mr Albanese said.
“It’s rather strange, I’ve got to say. I wouldn’t have been able to tell you if you’d have asked me who the candidate was.”
He added: “And I don’t intend to promote the name or the candidate of the Greens Party candidate, and I’m surprised that the Australian had determined to promote them.”
He also claimed Labor’s “organisational wing” was responsible for his how to vote card.
Sky News host Sharri Markson accused the Prime Minister of misleading voters after he claimed to rule out making deals with the Greens, as she also condemned Ms Thomas’ anti-Israel views.
“I haven’t heard Hannah or any of the Greens running at any point speak about the barbaric slaughter of innocent Israelis on October 7 or call for Hamas to return the innocent hostages,” Ms Markson said on Wednesday night.
“It’s utterly outrageous, and yet Albanese claims he has no idea who he’s giving his preferences to and he even attacked The Australian for daring to ask him about it.”
Ms Markson said it was “unbecoming” for the Prime Minister to turn a “legitimate public interest question” into a criticism of the masthead.
“And his answer that he knows nothing about it is unbelievable, it defies credibility,” she said.
Speaking to The Australian, Ms Thomas slammed the Prime Minister’s comments as she declared they showed he was out of touch.
“The Prime Minister’s comments are arrogant and confirm how much he takes the Grayndler community for granted,” she told The Australian.
“I’ve been knocking on doors across the inner west, and people here, just like millions across Australia, know you can’t keep voting for the same two parties and expect a different result.”
She added the electorate was “disappointed” with Labor’s failure to tackle issues including the cost of living crisis and climate, and to “act on Gaza”.
The Greens candidate said there was no preference deal between her and Labor after she placed the Prime Minister third on her own how to vote card.
Ms Thomas has previously said the Albanese government was complicit in “genocide” in Gaza, and told an anti-Israel rally in Sydney last month “The Prime Minister could absolutely make a difference”, The Australian reported.
“[Mr Albanese] could sanction Israel… he could expel the Israeli ambassador, he could stop military trade, he could recognise Palestine,” she said at the rally.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin told The Australian he found Mr Albanese’s second vote preference of the candidate “profoundly disturbing”.
A Greens spokesman said the party “utterly rejected” accusations the party or its members were anti-Semitic.
