Recently contested by-election for Batman federal constituency had a surprise result. Alex Bhathal, the Greens' candidate lost to Labor's Ged Kearney, former Australian Council of Trade Unions president and one-time nurse. Bhathal was almost certain to win the seat especially after she received a 7% swing in her favour during last elections in 2016.
Just to give you a background - there are 110,000 registered voters in the constituency. The constituency has always been a Labor safe seat except for 1910 and 1969. The area covers Thomastown, Preston, Reservoir, Thornburry, parts of Bundoora, Coburg North and Clifton Hill --inner city, North of Melbourne. In recent years, Batman has seen immense change in its racial mix. More people of Indian subcontinent have moved to the area. The place traditionally has had residents of Italians, Greeks and Turkish background.
With such a diverse mix, Alex Bhathal had a strong chance of wooing ethnic votes in her favour and winning the elections. Labor's previous representative from the area had already been discredited as he hadn't declared a million dollar property for the 2016 elections. The by-elections were called because David Freeney couldn't produce documents before the the date set by the courts to prove that Freeney had done his best to relinquish his British citizenship.
Alex Bhathal was a very vocal pro-migrant, pro-refugee advocate. She stood firmly against Indian-billionaire Adani's coal mine in Queensland. She advocated a change of name for the Batman constituency. Previously Bhathal told The Indian Sun: “The name has got a bit of sad history. Batman, in his own diary, admitted to killing two aboriginal children, including a two-year old, at point blank range. It is in his own words."
If elected, Bhathal wanted to put a submission to change the name and name it after William Barak. Barak, an aboriginal man and a major figure in 19th century Melbourne, reached out to white settlers. Bhathal's father is a Sikh who lived in White Australia, married to her Irish mum. She started a political career in the ALP, but left the party at the age of 21 over the issue of uranium mining.
There were many positive factors that made Alex an ideal candidate to represent Batman in Canberra. In their concession speech, the Greens accused "sabotage" as a reason for its defeat. Weeks before the elections, members of the party leaked out a dossier to media on internal investigation against Bhathal on allegations of bullying. This was calculated and done on purpose to influence voters. Don't forget there are many former Labor members with current links to the ALP in the Greens. So it's anyone's guess on what may have happened and who may have leaked the information to discredit the Greens before such a crucial elections.
On the Indian votes in the area: Alex Bhathal is of Sikh heritage. Indian community living in the area is of Hindu, Muslim and Sikh background. Two years back, Alex Bhahthal had shared a platform with Sikh activists who took a stand on Sikh killings in 1984 in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi. Many Sikhs sought the matter to be heard in International Court of Justice. This is a very decisive topic for Indians. Militant Sikh bodies have called for a separate Khalistan state for Sikhs in the region and most Hindus are opposed to the idea and they want India to remain as One Nation with a multi-faith and secular constitution.
The debate was once again raked up few days before the by-elections by former Wyndham City Councillor Gautam Gupta. It's rumoured that Indian votes in the area got split as the debate caused suspicion among Hindu voters who switched to Labor.
Another vital reason for the defeat came from Batman's catholic community. Bill Shorten personally thanked the Catholic community for their support. On Saturday night, Shorten called Melbourne Catholic Education Chief Executive Stephen Elder for the body's support. Around 30,000 automated calls were made to catholic voters before the elections.
It's quite evident that Alex Bhathal had strong resistance from various quarters. In 2016 there were racist flyers being circulated to demoralise her election campaign. It will be naive to assume race did not play a role in Bhathal's defeat. Whether it's within the Indian community or in the mainstream Australian society, Bhathal is a victim of race and communal politics.