cultural diversity in parliament –  by Tharini Roouwette

Source:linkedin.com

I recently spoke to The AFR about cultural diversity in parliament and how we shouldn’t rest on our laurels. I also spoke frankly about some of the barriers people of colour face, even when they do want to learn about or participate in politics. Full article below.

In the meantime, if interested, I’ve been updating data on PoC representation in the lower house and senate and you can find those details here: https://lnkd.in/ggZZ4ajz

Despite the rise in the number of diverse parliamentarians elected to the next parliament, Tharini Rouwette, chief executive and founder of the Centre of Multicultural Political Engagement Literacy and Leadership , said the proportion was “pathetic”.

“No one teaches you how the system works,” she said. Ms Rouwette said that even when ethnically diverse people took an interest in politics and joined a party, they were often asked to volunteer on campaigns, with no instruction on how the system actually worked. In some cases, people from diverse communities were turned away because the party assumed they were looking for paid work”

Katja (Kat) Henaway Menaka Iyengar Cooke Mariam Veiszadeh Anka Sahin Jana Favero Barat Batoor Pawan Luthra Fiona Boyd (Waskam) Emelda Davis HY William Chan #auspol #representationmatters #diversity