There will be a number of posts coming out which will focus on the Federal Election result spoils. One interesting thing is that there will now be 9 ( and possibly 10) Asian Australians who will be in Australian Parliament as Members of Parliament and as Senators. 4 of the current 9 are women who come from a South Asian background. Where most Australian media are focusing on the teal Independent women getting in, it is amazing that Australian Parliament will have quite a number of Asian women and 4 of them are of South Asian background. Here they are:
CASSANDRA FERNANDO (ALP) – HOLT, VICTORIA
- Cassandra is Sri Lankan background and migrated to Australia with her family when she was only 11;
- When Cassandra was 14 she worked at Woolworths in Dandenong Plaza and spent almost 14 years baking, stacking shelves and making lifelong friends;
- The demographics of Holt consist of a very large population of those coming from an Indian background (7.1%), Sri Lankan (4.2%) and Afghan (3.7%);
SENATOR MEHREEN FARUQI (GRN) – SENATOR FOR NEW SOUTH WALES
- Dr Mehreen Faruqi is the Greens’ senator for New South Wales and comes from a Pakistan cultural background;
- In 2013, she joined NSW State Parliament, becoming the first Muslim woman to sit in an Australian parliament;
- In 2018, Mehreen became Australia’s first Muslim senator;
DR MICHELLE ANANDA-RAJAH (ALP) – HIGGINS, VICTORIA
- Michelle’s parents migrated to Australia in search of a better life for their children;
- Michelle was/is one of Australia’s leading experts in infectious diseases and works at a major Melbourne hospital;
- The demographics of Higgins shows that it is not that diverse with over (70%) of the population born in Australia. Over (50%) of the electorate population’s parents were both born in Australia with around about (28%) of the electorate population both being born overseas;
ZANETA MASCARENHAS (ALP) – SWAN, WESTERN AUSTRALIA
- Zaneta was born in Kalgoorlie and grew up in Kambalda which is a nickel mining town where her dad was a fitter and her mum a kindergarten school cleaner;
- For 15 years she worked as an engineer across sites in WA and VIC, and for the last decade has helped mining companies develop policies to address climate change;
- The demographics of Swan is diverse with those coming from a Chinese background accounting for (7.2%) of the electorate’s population. In addition those coming from an Indian background account for (3.9%) and Malaysias (2.6%);
Isn’t this just awesome?