Last Updated: November 27, 2023, 14:17 IST
Congratulating him on securing the NSW Senate place, Opposition chief Dutton mentioned Dave Sharma’s (in image) entry to the Senate would come at an important time. (Image Crediit: X)
Dave Sharma, Australia’s first Indian-origin lawmaker, wins New South Wales Liberal Senate race, changing retired Marise Payne
Dave Sharma, who grew to become the primary Indian-origin lawmaker in Australia’s Parliament in 2019, will return to politics after his victory in the New South Wales Liberal Senate race. Sharma, 47, will substitute ex-foreign minister Marise Payne, who has retired from the Senate, the Australian Associated Press reported.
Sharma, who represented the Sydney seat of Wentworth till his defeat on the 2022 election, beat former New South Wales (NSW) minister Andrew Constance, a frontrunner backed by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. In a vote by the New South Wales Liberal Party members, Sharma defeated Constance 251-206 in the ultimate poll on Sunday, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Sharma, who served as Australia’s ambassador to Israel from 2013 to 2017, was backed by the moderates throughout the celebration. Asserting that taking on from former Senator Payne was a privilege, Sharma mentioned, ”I want to thank the celebration members for the chance to carry the Albanese authorities to account in the Senate over its many missteps and mistaken selections, and to combat for the various households throughout New South Wales (NSW) struggling to cope with Labor’s cost-of-living disaster.”
“The opportunity to serve in the Senate will allow me to fight for our nation’s national security interests in a time of greater global turmoil,” he was quoted as saying in the report. Congratulating him on securing the NSW Senate place, Opposition chief Dutton mentioned Sharma’s entry to the Senate would come at an important time. “His diplomatic and foreign policy expertise will lend considerable weight and wisdom to the public policy debate given the precarious circumstances in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific,” Dutton mentioned in an announcement.
Asserting that Sharma was a “fitting replacement” for Payne, Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley mentioned, “Dave Sharma will bring a unique perspective to the Australian Senate.” In 2019, Sharma scripted historical past by changing into the primary Indian-origin lawmaker in Australia’s Parliament after profitable a seat in a Sydney suburb in the federal election.
(This story has not been edited by News18 workers and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – PTI)
