Austin Mackell contacted his local member’s office approximately 192 times, it is alleged.
On one day, the 43-year-old pro-Palestine activist made up to 43 phone calls. He swore at staff and called them names. He threatened to attend the office of Susan Templeman, federal member for Macquarie, in person, and follow her staff in their cars.
Even after Templeman asked him to stop, Mackell kept going.
According to the Crown, which has charged Mackell with the offence of using a carriage service to menace, harass or offend, his sample communications include, “if you don’t answer the phone you’re going to see me in the street”, and “my only option is to catch you on the street between the car and the office … tell Susan to respond to my emails … she’s a coward”.
But Mackell says his prosecution is “malicious” and “politically motivated” and a violation of his right to free speech.
On Wednesday, he appeared before the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal arguing his bail conditions should be dropped because they unreasonably impinge on his freedom.
The conditions prevent him from contacting Templeman or her former chief of staff. He is also prohibited from entering Templeman’s electorate office.
In one voicemail, according to Crown submissions, Mackell said: “the more you ignore me the angrier I’m going to become … that means making Susan’s life a living hell or your life a living hell”.
In another, according to documents, he called a staff member “a little f—ing Eichmann”. It was followed by an email where he referred to “you racist amoral complacent little eichmanns”.
Mackell’s allegedly abusive messages were almost exclusively about Palestine, and the Albanese government’s foreign policy on Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, which has been called a genocide by a United Nations commission of inquiry.
But one message was on the topic of his Centrelink payments.
On May 14, 2025, when he made 28 calls to Templeman’s office between 11am and 12.30pm, Mackell allegedly left a message saying: “I need help with my Centrelink. Give me the f—in’ money now you c—s.”
Three other voicemails that day were about the bombing of hospitals by Israel, and recorded Mackell saying “What the f— is wrong with you people?” In others, he allegedly called staff “f—ing scum” and “f—ing hypocrites”.
Templeman is a co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine group, which Mackell says means she “invites criticism” on the topic.
But regardless of the subject, the underlying and allegedly harassing behaviour of which Mackell is accused is being treated with the utmost seriousness by authorities.
This is particularly relevant following the recent electorate office attack on Independent MP Helen Haines, and heightened awareness about political rhetoric which can curdle into menace, or even violence.
In a video recently posted to his Facebook page, Mackell is seen walking up and down outside the office in Lawson in the Blue Mountains.
“Ms Templeman, you can’t hide, you support this genocide,” Mackell says to the camera.
“The goal is to actually get inside the office of my local member, who I’m also not allowed to contact via email because I emailed her too often about the Gaza genocide.”
Representing himself before the court on Wednesday, Mackell blew a kiss to his partner before walking to the bar table.
Wearing a crumpled blue button-down shirt, he argued forcefully that his bail conditions breach the implied freedom of political communication in the Constitution.
This is the same constitutional freedom relied upon by Pauline Hanson in her appeal to the High Court over a racist tweet telling Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi to “piss off back to Pakistan”.
“There is a weaponisation of the pretence of concern to silence political speech,” Mackell told the court on Wednesday.
“This whole case is political and the bail conditions are an extension of that.”
Mackell called Templeman a “liar” and said he would “not be deterred in holding this person … who is a public official accountable within the law”.
He submitted it was “only after polite contact [was] rebuffed” and a police visit to his home, he began to “show anger”.
Referring to Templeman’s membership of the Friends of Palestine group, he told the court: “With friends like this, does Palestine really need enemies?”
The Crown opposed any variation to bail conditions due to the risk of Mackell interfering with witnesses.
It relied in part on an in-person confrontation Mackell had with Templeman’s now-former chief of staff in April 2025, where Mackell allegedly yelled and swore at him.
A couple of months later, in July, Mackell allegedly banged on the office door while the chief of staff was inside, leading him to call the police.
Mackell was not charged in relation to either of these incidents, but the Crown says they form the “surrounding circumstances” which constitute the harassment.
Following these incidents, police visited Mackell’s Blue Mountains home to warn him about his behaviour, a visit Mackell referred to in court as the police “showing up armed at my door … trying to intimidate me”.
Documents tendered to the court show Templeman did try to deal with Mackell’s concerns, writing to him in May 2025: “I respect your depth of feeling on these issues, however it is not appropriate for my staff to be personally confronted or insulted.”
Speaking after the hearing, Mackell said the social cohesion team within the national security unit of the Australian Federal Police was “using the process to punish me because they know there is no chance of a conviction”.
Even after he was charged, Mackell sent another email on May 25, 2026, telling Templeman: “You, the politician, are accountable to me, the voter, on my terms not yours, and you need to stop digging, you idiot.”
The Crown argued this showed that there was an unacceptable risk he will contact witnesses.
Now Mackell is accountable before the courts. The Court of Criminal Appeal reserved its decision on his bail variation. The original criminal charge against him is listed for a committal hearing in Katoomba Local Court on Monday.
The activist, who has touted for donations to his cause on social media, wants the matter to be heard in the District Court before a jury of his peers.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
