Come March 23, lets support Pallavi Sinha for the upper House

By Neena Badhwar

Pallavi Sinha, our community’s pride, a young yet highly energetic Indian-origin lawyer who has been working hard for the last many years on various issues, has been given a ticket to the Upper House Legislative Assembly Council to fight in the coming State elections on March 23.

Pallavi’s dedication to the Liberal Party can be seen and experienced through her relentless work she has done and achieved in the last few years. As a young liberal Pallavi has built up strong alliances not just at the party level, she has been working hard and connecting to the Indian as well as general community, an ethnic voice whose parents, Dr. Prabhat and Neena Sinha, have lived here since the seventies.

Pallavi on Domestic Violence

Not only that Pallavi can be seen on ABC’s Q & A, Drum programs and on other channels, she is someone who speaks with confidence and a keen community worker. Says Chris McDiven, Former State and Federal President of Liberal Party, “Pallavi impressed me with her academic, professional and community service record, in particular her work in raising the profile of the issue of domestic violence.”

There are many testimonials of her work in this last decade when her mum Neena says, “It is difficult to catch Pallavi as she is like a whirlwind from morning to evening. Even I have to ask her for time when I can see her.”P

Pallavi shone as a participant in the Ethics Centre Intelligence Squared Racism and the Australian Dream debate when she won being paired with Sky News Anchor Stan Grant. Her confidence and the ability to prove a point is etched in the minds of audience. Says Matt Keane, MP, “Pallavi is sharp, articulate and one of the brightest minds in the Liberal Party.”

Nick Griener, former NSW Premier, said about her, “Pallavi’s qualifications, skills and experience are well-suited for the NSW Upper House and she obviously offers both gender and ethnic diversity which are very relevant.”

Yes, one does notice a great void in NSW as well as Federal politics to do with gender and ethnic voice.

There is very little or none ethnic voice when it comes to parliament with 20 out of 226 politicians belonging to non-English speaking background according to ABC News. Up there where the decisions are made, Australian politics does not reflect the true diversity that is there in the grass roots. Nor does the gender with Liberal party at federal level with only 24 percent women candidates. In 2018 Australian population tipped the balance with 50 percent belonging to parents born overseas, specially the Indian community which is the fastest growing in NSW as well as in Victoria where it is one of the largest in number. In politics, in the media, we as Indians and ethnic, are very poorly represented.

We as Indians ought to be there and we simply ask everyone who goes to vote on March 23 to go below the line and put number 1 on Pallavi Sinha’s name. And then you must number the rest 14 candidates below the line so that it is a valid vote in favour of Pallavi being at number 1.

In the times when women have left politics in droves, Pallavi along with others who are facing headwinds to do with gender, and her being an ethnic of Indian-origin at that, not easy, she is young, intelligent, a lawyer by profession, and most suited to be elected. Older Indian community has always wondered why young Indians who are born here with local education have not taken to politics. And also it is disappointing that Pallavi has been given an unwinnable ticket this time round. TIDU remembers Tasmanian Senator Lisa Singh’s plight in the last federal elections who did not leave hope and found strength in number when she beat the odds and won.

We as a community should show all our strength and support this aspiring girl who comes with loads of experience and local knowhow of the political system, and a true representative of the growing Indian as well as ethnic community in Australia.

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