An Australian by-election has taken on local, national and international significance as Australia’s ruling Liberal party fought unsuccessfully to hold its a one-seat majority in the parliament.
It is not for HonestReporting to take a public stance on the outcome of the Wentworth by-election. However, it is no secret that the Liberal candidate Dave Sharma, a former Australian ambassador to Israel, was and is a great friend of the country and the Jewish community.
This is a legitimate debate to be had. But an opinion piece by award-winning journalist Tony Walker republished by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), however, goes too far, leading off:
In the Gospel of Matthew 26:15, it took 30 pieces of silver for Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus. In modern Australian politics it has taken the prospect of a loss of a byelection for a political leader to opportunistically upend longstanding policy.
Read the report by Simon Plosker from Honest Reporting.