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‘I am hopeful we will see more Asian Australian lawyers run for Parliament’
The Asian Australian Lawyers Association is celebrating the election of more culturally diverse MPs at the recent federal election. However, more progress is required for the nation to have a truly representative Parliament, the organisation argues.
Jerome Doraisamy
AALA has welcomed the election of eight new culturally diverse MPs in the Australian Federal Parliament in Cassandra Fernando (Holt), Dai Le (Fowler), Gordon Reid (Robertson), Marion Scrymgour (Lingiari), Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Higgins), Sally Sitou (Reid), Sam Lim (Tangney) and Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan).
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This cohort of eight joins the re-elected Ian Goodenough (Moore) and Anne Aly (Cowan) to “form the most culturally diverse House of Representatives Australia has seen”, the organisation said.
The prospect of a more culturally diverse Senate is also promising, AALA went on, with Senators Pat Dodson (Western Australia), Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania), Mehreen Faruqi (NSW), Malarndirri McCarthy (Northern Territory) and Lidia Thorpe (Victoria) continuing their terms, the re-election of Senator Penny Wong (South Australia), Afghan-Australian Fatima Payman set to win Western Australia’s sixth Senate seat, and the recent election of First Nations candidates Jana Stewart (Victoria Senate), Jacinta Price (Northern Territory Senate) and Dorinda Cox (Western Australia Senate).
“This marks a milestone in Australia’s cultural change having had a Federal Parliament dominated by 96 per cent of persons with a European background in the last decade,” the organisation said.
“However, despite this improvement, Australia still significantly falls behind the rest of the world with the number of Asian Australians in its Federal Parliament falling below the 15 per cent of Asian Australians in its population.”
AALA pointed out that countries such as New Zealand and the United Kingdom have progressed “far more” than Australia in the last 21 years, with the UK having doubled its progress rate, despite starting at a similar position as Australia in 2001.
The organisation’s national president Molina Asthana said: “Though this is a step in the right direction, further change is required for our Parliament to be truly representative of our demographic.
“The major parties need to be aware that tokenism and ignoring diverse candidates can be to their detriment.”
For Ms Asthana, what stood out in the recent federal election was the rise of professional women in the political landscape, “both as those elected and those as discernible voters”.
“I am particularly happy to see a number of Asian Australian women who have been elected. In the future I am hopeful we will see more Asian Australian Lawyers run for Parliament,” she proclaimed.
“Lawyers, in particular, make for good legislators as we understand law making, believe in upholding the rule of law and are connected to the communities.
“I would encourage more lawyers of diverse backgrounds to consider running for local, state and federal elections, particularly if you have a passion for social justice. I am also hopeful that this diverse representation in Parliament would also be a catalyst for greater representation on the bench.”
