A 17-year-old boy has been accused of punching an elderly man in an altercation in the prime minister’s electorate on Wednesday.
The teen allegedly punched the 79-year-old man in the face outside a pre-polling centre in Ashfield in Sydney’s inner west, which falls within Anthony Albanese‘s electorate of Grayndler.
Emergency services were called to the centre at around 1pm on Wednesday and paramedics treated the man for head injuries. He was later taken to hospital.
The man was reportedly wearing a Make America Great Again hat and tried to vandalise a corflute before the attack. As reported by 9News, he is believed to have become aggressive towards a volunteer handing out how-to-vote cards when he was asked not to deface the corflute.
Police said the pair were not known to each other and the teen was understood to be standing across the street before seeing the altercation.
The teenager was arrested at the scene and was taken to Burwood Police Station, where he was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
He was refused police bail and will face a children’s court on Thursday.
An Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) spokesperson said the incident did not involve any AEC staff.
“The AEC is aware of this incident,” the spokesperson said, per ABC News.
“Voting operations are continuing at the pre-poll voting centre in Ashfield.”
In a separate pre-poll incident at Macquarie Park in Sydney’s northwest, a 30-year-old man was charged with intimidation after allegedly behaving aggressively towards a number of volunteers.
Police allege that around 11am, a man kicked over several corflute signs and acted aggressively toward three volunteers, including a 32-year-old woman.
Footage of the incident shows the man, wearing a hood, knocking down one sign before picking another one up and throwing it in the direction of a man wearing Liberal Party paraphernalia.
He walked off after the incident and no injuries were reported.
The man was later arrested at a nearby unit at around 1pm. He was given bail and will face Burwood Local Court on June 2.
With input from the AAP.
Lead image: 9News
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