CANBERRA: Just hours before the Federal Election polls open, national newspaper, The Australian has reported that the Armenian-Australian voting block could determine the future of battleground seats in Bennelong, Bradfield and Parramatta.
Journalist Alexi Demetriadi writes, "In April, at the 110-year commemoration (of the Armenian Genocide), Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton offered their 'deepest sympathies' and remembrance of the about 1.5 million Armenians “massacred” by the Ottoman Empire during World War I. But the failure to recognise it as a genocide – unlike more than 30 countries, including the US and France – rankles with Australia’s Armenian community, many of whom will take that frustration with them when casting their vote on Saturday."
The article quotes Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) Executive Director, Michael Kolokossian, who says, “Both major parties have failed to lead on the Armenian genocide recognition – and that silence is impossible to ignore, especially when two minor parties, the The Australian Greens and Family First, have party policies on the issue.”
There is a strong focus on the ANC-AU Federal Election Guide, released on Friday 2 May 2025 to advise the 50,000-strong Armenian-Australian community ahead of their entry into the polls.
The Australian focuses on the strength of the Armenian-Australian community vote to shift as a block on the goal to have the Armenian Genocide recognised by Australia as well as stronger Federal Government advocacy on the rights of ethnically cleansed Armenians from Artsakh. The article says this shift is most possible in Bennelong, but also Bradfield and Parramatta.
The article featured quotes from Armenian-Australian locals in Bennelong locals a quote local Ryde resident Noubar Kelleyan, who said: “I want a member of parliament who will march into the leader’s office and demand recognition, not sit on their hands and tell us they’re working but do nothing behind the scenes in the hallways of power.”
CLICK HERE to read the full article in The Australian.CLICK HERE for the ANC-AU Federal Election Guide.
