Alex Bhathal Explained

Party:Australian Greens
Alma Mater:RMIT University, La Trobe University, University of Melbourne
Occupation:Social worker, former politician
Website:https://alexbhathal.com/

Alexandra Kaur Bhathal[1] (born 1964 or 1965)[2] is a social worker and former politician. She is most known as a perennial candidate for the Australian Greens in the Division of Batman, having stood on six occasions; 2001, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2016, and at the 2018 Batman by-election.[3] Bhathal was also the candidate for the state Electoral district of Northcote in 2006.[4]

Early life

Bhathal's father was a Punjabi Sikh from a village near Verka Town, India.

2018 by-election

Bhathal's campaign was damaged when a 101-page document containing claims of bullying by Bhathal was leaked.[5] After the by-election, an internal Greens review dismissed the allegations against Bhathal, and apologised to her.

After politics

Bhathal was planned to be the candidate for the Division of Cooper at the 2019 Australian federal election, but withdrew in August 2018, stating that her previous campaign had been "sabotaged" by individuals within the party.[6]

In February 2019, Bhathal resigned from the Australian Greens, stating she had been the victim of "relentless organisational bullying" over several years.[7]

A documentary was made about Bhathal's unsuccessful campaign in 2018, entitled The Candidate.[8] The screening of the film in July 2019 was sabotaged, with the fire alarm being set off as soon as the film started.[9]

Footnotes

  1. Web site: Alex Kaur Bhathal - Greens candidate for Batman, VIC . 2024-04-12 . SBS Language . en.
  2. Web site: 2016-05-26 . 20 Questions with Alex Bhathal . 2024-04-12 . Australian Greens . en . 17 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221117210548/https://greens.org.au/magazine/20-questions-alex-bhathal . live .
  3. News: Manning . Paddy . 6 February 2018 . Sixth time lucky? Meet Alex Bhathal . 12 March 2024 . The Monthly . 29 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221129055943/https://www.themonthly.com.au/today/paddy-manning/2018/06/2018/1517891534/sixth-time-lucky-meet-alex-bhathal . live .
  4. Web site: 2012-01-30 . Curriculum Vitae . 2024-04-12 . Alex Bhathal . en.
  5. Web site: Preiss . Benjamin . 2018-08-07 . Greens apologise to Alex Bhathal over handling of bullying complaint . 2024-04-12 . The Age . en.
  6. News: Henriques-Gomes . Luke . 2018-08-10 . 'Sabotage': perennial Greens candidate Alex Bhathal won't contest next election . 2024-04-12 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  7. Web site: Henriques-Gomes . Luke . 1 February 2019 . Former Greens candidate Alex Bhathal quits party, blaming 'organisational bullying' . 2024-04-12 . The Guardian.
  8. Web site: Towell . Noel . 2019-07-08 . Greens' candidate horror show comes to the big screen . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201108000900/https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/greens-candidate-horror-show-comes-to-the-big-screen-20190708-p525ae.html . 8 November 2020 . 2024-04-12 . The Age . en.
  9. News: 29 July 2019 . Chaos at Greens screening . The Australian.