A Labor preselection battle sparked an examination of Parliament,which critics say is “stuck in the White Australia era”. Making it more multicultural will take some effort.
The befouled Fowler candidacy confirms the most negative existing perceptions of the party.
There are no rules preventing MPs living outside their electorates,but it risks sending a very dangerous message to the local community.
So concerned are some ministers,they’re convinced her demise could be weeks away. Their apprehension may well be premature,but Gladys Berejiklian is viewed as being increasingly isolated from much of her ministry.
The Labor and Liberal parties must work harder to field candidates who better represent the ethnic origins of Australians.
She’s got the support of Labor Party heavyweights,but many voters on the streets of locked-down Cabramatta have never heard of Kristina Keneally.
The former prime minister says local candidates in the western Sydney seat may be well-meaning but they would “take years to scramble” to the ability of Kristina Keneally.
Having three women vying within Labor for two positions might seem a triumph for gender equity,but when the loser is the only woman of colour,does equity end with white women?
Asian,African,Middle Eastern and Pacific Islander Australians make up only 4.1 per cent of the MPs and senators in federal Parliament but 21 per cent of the population.
“I’m proud to be part of a party that gets cultural diversity,” the NSW Labor senator said in western Sydney on Saturday.
The former NSW premier has become a prominent fighting figure for Labor,attempting to punch back at the Morrison government and its head-kicker-in-chief,Peter Dutton,over immigration,right-wing terrorism and border security.