Australian Test opener Usman Khawaja has accused Peter Dutton of “fueling Islamophobia” over comments the opposition leader made about potential Muslim candidates in Western Sydney electorates.
Following WA senator Fatima Payman’s defection from Labor on Thursday, Dutton suggested that if the government is returned to power at the next election it would be as a minority government.
“The Prime Minister, if he’s in a minority government in the next term of parliament, it will include the Greens, it’ll include green teals, it’ll include Muslim candidates from Western Sydney. It will be a disaster,” the Liberal leader said.
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“If you think the Albanese government is bad now, wait for it to be a minority government with the Greens, the green teals and Muslim independents.
“That is not the formula for bringing grocery prices down and for getting our economy back on track.”
Khawaja, who became the first Muslim to play for Australia when he made his Test debut during the 2010-11 Ashes, took aim at the comments on Thursday.
“As a Muslim who grew up in Western Sydney I find this comment from someone who is running for PM an absolute disgrace,” Khawaja said on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
“Bigotry at its finest. Fueling Islamophobia from the very top.”
Dutton’s comments follow reports a grassroots political movement is planning to capitalise on community anger over the government’s stance on Gaza and is currently weighing up candidates to endorse in a number of Labor-held seats in Western Sydney.
“People are getting behind the movement understanding that there needs to be a shift in the dynamic,” a spokesperson for the Muslim Vote told the ABC.
“It is the first time that the Muslim community has realised that their vote does matter. This has been a line in the sand.”
Payman earlier vowed to work through death threats and anger from Labor colleagues to push for Palestinian rights after she quit the party on Thursday.
Payman said she was “deeply torn” but had been left with no choice because she believed Labor was moving too slowly to recognise Palestinian statehood and had exhausted internal options.
“Witnessing our government’s indifference to the greatest injustice of our times makes me question the direction the party’s taking,” she said.