Abandoned by Labor, grassroots rally behind Lisa Singh
“I’m very pleased with the campaign I’ve run, I ran a dignified campaign based on integrity and respect for others,” said Senator Singh.
Well done Lisa Singh! An unprecedented win!
Relegated to sixth spot on Labor Party’s senate ticket in Tasmania, it was a near impossible task for her to win the seat but voters knew what was the right thing to do and thumped their noses at the state factional politics to vote ”˜below the line’ ”“ 20,740 of them – to elect her for the second time as their Senator. She easily beat number one on the Labor Party ticket, Anne Urquhart.
Lisa Singh said it was a historic result.
“I’m very pleased with the campaign I’ve run, I ran a dignified campaign based on integrity and respect for others,” she said.
The party executives who had preferred a union boss, John Short, were shocked at his loss trumped by Lisa Singh. One of them, Senator Catryna Bilyk, was unforgiving, ungracious not even to acknowledge her win.
But Lisa Singh was humble at the massive people verdict for her, as the support she received was overwhelming with businesses offering to put her posters at their shop fronts, virtually triggering an avalanche of ”˜Re-elect Lisa Singh’ people’s movement.
It was her rise above party politics that focused her on the task ahead, instead believing in a grass-roots campaign ”“ door knocking, pamphlets, one to one interactions, and she received plenty of volunteers to undertake the task. She said her campaign was based on honesty, integrity and on a platform for reforms and change, picking up on core issues of education, Medicare, NBN, Climate Change and Renewable Energy.
Lisa Singh received massive support in inner-city Hobart and took votes away from the Greens in Denison and Franklin areas.
“Thank you Tasmania. This is your win,” she tweeted after her election.
Politics is in her blood – her grandfather Ram Jati Singh was in the Fijian Parliament in the 1960s, a prominent member of the National Federation party (NFP).
Prior to being elected to the Australian Senate, Lisa Singh served in the Tasmanian Parliament as a Labor Member for Denison during 2006-2010. She was a strong advocate for housing, public transport, cultural diversity and reform for the Hobart waterfront.
Senator Lisa Singh met Amitabh Bachchan in India when she was conferred Bhartiya Samman Award by the President of India
Lisa Singh is a strong supporter of the Australia-India relationship. In 2014, the Indian President, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, conferred on her a Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award for her exceptional and meritorious public service as a person of Indian heritage in fostering friendly relations between India and Australia.
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