List of Asian Australian politicians explained

This is a list of Asian Australians who have served as members of Australian federal, state, or territory legislatures. Despite Australia's proximity to Asia, as well as the significant and increasing minority of Australians belonging to an Asian ethnicity,[1] [2] the Australian Parliament is considered to be particularly under-representative of its Asian constituents in comparison to other Western multicultural democracies[3] [4] [5] with members of minority groups making up only about 6 percent of Parliament.[6]

Officeholders

20 Asian Australian people have been members of the Parliament of Australia (the Federal Parliament), including ten each in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The most common represented ethnicity are Chinese Australian (nine) and Indian Australian (three). There are eight incumbent Asian Australian parliamentarians as of 2022.

Federal Parliament

Senate

SenatorEthnicityPartyStateTenureNotes

Chinese[7] [8] [9] [10] LiberalVictoria1 July 199930 June 2005

Malaysian Chinese[11] [12] [13] [14] LaborSouth Australia1 July 2002Incumbent

Indian[15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] LaborTasmania

Chinese[21] [22] Palmer UnitedWestern Australia1 July 20142 July 2016

Pakistani[23] [24] [25] [26] GreensNew South WalesIncumbent

Afghan[27] Labor (to 2024)
Independent (from 2024)		Western Australia1 July 2022Incumbent

Indian[28] LaborWestern Australia1 February 2024Incumbent
  1. Web site: June 28, 2017 . What "Asian" really means in the Census . NewsComAu.
  2. Web site: Australia's Growing Asian Minority: The Impact on Foreign Policy - AIIA .
  3. Web site: Walden . Max . 2021-03-24 . Under-representation of Asian Australians in politics . 2022-06-17 . Election Watch . en.
  4. Pietsch . Juliet . May 4, 2017 . Explaining the political under-representation of Asian Australians: geographical concentration and voting patterns . Political Science . 69 . 2 . 161–174 . 10.1080/00323187.2017.1345283 . Taylor and Francis+NEJM . 149364250.
  5. Web site: February 24, 2021 . The under-representation of Asian-Australians: political order and political delay .
  6. News: Cave . Damien . 2018-04-10 . In a Proudly Diverse Australia, White People Still Run Almost Everything . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-06-17 . 0362-4331.
  7. First Asian-born migrant to be elected to Parliament
  8. News: 2019-12-10 . Tributes flow for first Chinese-born federal parliamentarian after fatal car accident . en-AU . ABC News . 2022-06-17.
  9. Web site: Lo . Jieh-Yung . 2019-12-16 . Tsebin Tchen: a "guardian angel" of multicultural Australia . 2022-06-17 . The Age . en.
  10. Web site: 'Humble gentleman': Chinese community pays tribute to Australia's first Asian-born MP . 2022-06-17 . SBS Your Language . en.
  11. First Asian-born member of Cabinet, First Asian-Australian foreign minister, and the first openly LGBTI person to hold the office
  12. Web site: 2018-12-20 . Penny Wong . 2022-06-17 . Q+A . en-AU.
  13. News: 2019-05-01 . Appointing Asian-Australian foreign minister would send powerful message, Penny Wong says . en-AU . ABC News . 2022-06-17.
  14. Web site: 2022-05-23 . Proud to be Asian and gay! Meet Penny Wong, Australia's new foreign minister . 2022-06-17 . Firstpost . en.
  15. First woman of South Asian heritage to be elected to Parliament
  16. Web site: About Lisa . 2022-06-17 . lisasingh.com.au . en-au.
  17. Web site: Lisa Singh .
  18. Web site: Former senator Lisa Singh becomes first female director of Australia India Institute . 2022-06-17 . SBS Your Language . en.
  19. Web site: Duttagupta . Ishani . January 13, 2022 . People elected me as they wanted to see diversity in Australian Parliament, says Indian origin woman . 2022-06-17 . The Times of India . en.
  20. Web site: Sarkar . Monica . Lisa Singh pushes political boundaries for Indians in Australia . 2022-06-17 . CNN. 21 May 2019 .
  21. Web site: Who is Dio Wang? . 2022-06-17 . SBS News . en.
  22. Web site: Aston . Heath . 2016-02-10 . PUP senator Dio Wang: 'Learn from China' and root out corruption at national level . 2022-06-17 . The Sydney Morning Herald . en.
  23. First Muslim woman to attain any political office in Australia; first Muslim woman senator to be elected to Parliament
  24. Web site: First female Muslim senator: 'I'm here to shake up the status quo' . 2022-06-17 . www.9news.com.au. 20 August 2018 .
  25. Web site: 2013-08-12 . First Muslim Woman In Aus Parliament Honored With Engineering Award . 2022-06-17 . Asian Scientist Magazine . en-US.
  26. Web site: Law . Benjamin . 2021-06-25 . Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi: 'Since moving here I've started swearing a lot' . 2022-06-17 . The Sydney Morning Herald . en.
  27. Web site: Hastie . Hamish . April 28, 2022 . Taliban takeover prevents Labor Senate hopeful from renouncing Afghan citizenship . The Sydney Morning Herald . Payman was eight when she was granted entry to Australia under her mother’s refugee visa in 2003 after her family fled Afghanistan during the previous Taliban regime..
  28. Web site: 2024-02-01 . Varun Ghosh confirmed to replace Senator Pat Dodson . 2024-02-02 . The West Australian . en.

House of Representatives

Member! rowspan="2"
EthnicityPartyDivisionStateTenureNotes
Term startTerm end

Hong Konger[29] LiberalRyanQueensland10 November 200120 May 2010
Independent20 May 201021 August 2010

Singaporean[30] [31] [32] LiberalMooreWestern Australia7 September 2013Incumbent

Hong KongerLiberalChisholmVictoria18 May 201921 May 2022First Chinese Australian woman to be elected to the House[33] [34] [35] [36] [37]

IndianLiberalWentworthNew South Wales18 May 201921 May 2022Second Australian ambassador of Indian heritage[38]

Sri Lankan[39] [40] [41] [42] LaborHigginsVictoria21 May 2022Incumbent

Sri Lankan[43] [44] [45] LaborHoltVictoria21 May 2022Incumbent

VietnameseIndependentFowlerNew South Wales21 May 20228 May 2023First Vietnamese-born member to be elected to Parliament[46] [47] [48] [49] [50] [51] [52]
Dai Le and Frank Carbone Network8 May 2023Incumbent

Chinese[53] [54] [55] [56] LaborTangneyWestern Australia21 May 2022Incumbent

IndianLaborSwanWestern Australia21 May 2022Incumbent

Chinese[57] [58] [59] [60] [61] LaborReidNew South Wales21 May 2022Incumbent

State and local government

Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly

Member! rowspan="2"
EthnicityPartyConstituencyTenureNotes
Term startTerm end

Korean[63] LiberalKurrajong15 October 2016IncumbentFirst Asian-Australian to lead a major political party in Australia.[64]

Indian[65] LaborYerrabi23 July 201917 October 2020First Indian-born person to hold the position of MLA in the Australian Capital Territory. First MLA to be sworn in on the Bhagwat Gita, representing his Hindu faith.[66]

Parliament of New South Wales

MemberEthnicityPartyConstituencyTenureNotes
Term startTerm end
Bengali[67] [68] LaborLondonderry8 June 2021Incumbent

Laotian[69] LaborMacquarie Fields28 March 2015IncumbentFirst politician of South-East Asian heritage to take a seat in the NSW Parliament

Singaporean[70] [71] Nationals9 August 2017IncumbentFirst person of Asian heritage to represent the Nationals in NSW[72]

Pakistani[73] GreensHeffron19 June 201314 August 2018

Punjabi[74] Nationals24 March 20076 January 2022

Chinese[75] LiberalParramatta26 March 201125 March 2023

Chinese[76] GreensNewtown28 March 2015Incumbent

PunjabiLaborMonaro6 May 2015Incumbent

Hong Konger[77] [78] Liberal / Independent19 March 198828 February 2003
Indian[79] NationalsCoffs Harbour23 March 2019Incumbent

Chinese[80] Labor27 March 19993 December 2009

Hong Konger[81] Labor24 May 201323 March 2019

Chinese[82] Liberal / Unity Party27 March 199923 March 2007

Parliament of the Northern Territory

MemberEthnicityPartyConstituencyTenureNotes
Term startTerm end

Chinese[83] LaborArnhem7 October 199516 June 2005

Chinese[84] LaborKarama27 August 2016Incumbent

ChineseFannie BayDecember 19625 August 1969

Malaysian[85] Country Liberal PartyGreatorex19942007

IndianLaborCasuarina18 October 2014Incumbent

East Timorese[86] LiberalKatherine27 August 201630 July 2020

Parliament of Queensland

MemberEthnicityPartyConstituencyTenureNotes
Term startTerm end

Hong Konger[87] [88] LaborCapalaba17 February 200123 March 2012

Indian[89] LaborKurilpa22 October 19831 November 1986

Parliament of South Australia

MemberEthnicityPartyConstituencyTenureNotes
Term StartTerm End

MalaysianLiberalState-wide20 March 2010Incumbent

JapaneseLiberalState-wide6 November 198219 March 2022

VietnameseLaborState-wide15 March 2014Incumbent

SingaporeanLiberalState-wide23 October 199010 October 1997

Parliament of Victoria

MemberEthnicityPartyConstituencyTenureNotes
Term StartTerm End

VietnameseLaborSouth Eastern Metropolitan Region24 November 201826 November 2022

ChineseLaborClayton / Clarinda30 March 199629 November 2014

VietnameseLaborMelbourne West ProvinceMay 1996November 2006

Sri LankanLaborCranbourne25 November 200224 November 2018

Sri LankanGreensNorthern Metropolitan Region19 October 2017Incumbent

ChineseLaborEastern Victoria Region29 November 2014Incumbent
CambodianLaborClarinda19 December 2018Incumbent

VietnameseGreensWestern Metropolitan Region21 February 201824 November 2018
IndianLabor / Independent / New DemocratsWestern Metropolitan Region24 November 201826 November 2022

Sri LankanLaborEumemmerring19851992
Malaysian ChineseLiberalWarrandyte26 August 2023Incumbent

IndianLaborMulgrave18 November 2023Incumbent

Parliament of Western Australia

MemberEthnicityPartyConstituencyTenureNotes
Term StartTerm End

ChineseLaborMining and Pastoral Region22 May 200921 May 2013

IndianLaborRiverton13 March 2021Incumbent

IndianLaborPilbara11 March 2017Incumbent

IndianLaborJandakot11 March 2017Incumbent

VietnameseLaborNovember 2007May 2009

ChineseLaborSouth Metropolitan Region22 May 2021Incumbent

Councilors and Mayors

MemberEthnicityPositionTenureNotes
Term StartTerm End

Hong KongerLord Mayor of MelbourneJuly 2001November 2008First Lord Mayor of Melbourne of Chinese descent.

Chinese[90] Lord Mayor of Darwin3 April 20124 September 2017

Vietnamese[91] [92] [93] Maribyrnong City Council9 November 2021

Chinese[94] [95] Cumberland City Council

Bangladeshi[96] [97] [98] [99] Cumberland City Council

Vietnamese[100] [101] [102] Brimbank City Council

See also

Asian Australians

Asian Americans

Other

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