When Malcolm Turnbull came to Hong Kong as prime minister in 2017, he was met by a crowd of close to 1000 at the Australian International School. There, he spoke proudly of the fact that Hong Kong was only the second-largest international polling booth (behind London). Now, all that has changed.
Polling booths at embassies, consulates and high commissions during federal elections have long been part of our fabric – the two main parties generally manage to rustle up enough interest to find supporters to hand out how-to-vote cards. In most locations, Australians enrolled to vote could usually do so for two weeks up to and including the day of the federal election. For many, polling day was the only time they visited the consulate and this became an important chance to reconnect with fellow Australians.
Australian Labor Party workers outside Australia House in London on election day, 2007.Credit:Wade Laube
One of the nation’s most prominent expatriates, Clive James, famously wrote of the different lens through which Australia is perceived when viewed at a distance – and confessed to having changed his opinions on the country of his birth once he saw other parts of the world. There is nothing quite like living outside the nation to see Australia for all her promise and intrinsic advantages, and to want to see a vision of the nation which remains globally engaged and outward-looking. The kilometres do not diminish the level of engagement or pride in Australia.
It’s been tough to be an Australian living abroad since that May day in 2019 when we last gathered to watch the election. The world was brought to a standstill by the global pandemic, and thousands of Australians were separated from family and loved ones by the ravages of the virus – and of the policy responses trying to contain it both at home and abroad.
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We were horrified when we watched the Australian government abandon our fellow Aussies in India. Later, the drawbridge was raised and Australia was closed to us for months.
It is now wonderful to see Australia moving beyond COVID in line with the rest of the world and to have witnessed those long overdue reunions. But for many who were stuck overseas, the loss of loved ones, the grandchildren not hugged, the births missed (one friend watched his wife deliver their baby via Zoom), the feeling of abandonment and despair has galvanised the diaspora as never before.
Just when we most want our voice at the ballot box, it has become a lot harder to be heard.
Jacinta Reddan is a long-time resident of Hong Kong, former CEO of the city’s Australian Chamber of Commerce and a corporate affairs advisor.
Closing overseas polling booths abandons Australians abroad
Source: Philippines Alive
