Labor senator Lisa Singh is returning to the Australian parliament as a Senate member from Tasmania, boosting Labor’s numbers in the upper house from the state. She has claimed victory today, riding a high number of first-preference votes, despite having been relegated to sixth position on the Labor party ticket- a position widely considered unwinnable.
With Ms Singh’s win, Labor has bagged five Senate seats while the party was expected to win only four.
Lisa Singh took the 10th Senate spot ahead of her colleague Senator Catryna Bilyk, who has also been returned.
Senator Singh received 20,741 below-the-line primary votes. “This hasn’t happened since 1953. We have certainly made a bit of history today,” an overjoyed Lisa Singh told SBS Punjabi.
Senator Singh says the grass-root people who were unhappy with the decision to relegate her to the bottom of the Senate ballot paper have sent out a message with a huge below-the-line voting.
“A number of people in the community got to work, they volunteered, they spread the message, and that ended up in a quite high below –the-line vote. I ended up with 80 per cent of the quota… some twenty thousand votes,” she told SBS Punjabi.
A number of people in the community got to work, they volunteered, they spread the message, and that ended up in a quite high below –the-line vote. I ended up with 80 per cent of the quota… some twenty thousand votes
John Short, the union boss who was given preference over Lisa Singh by the Labor party, failed to win a Senate seat.
Lisa Singh says she was disappointed that she has been dropped from the Labor’s shadow ministry.
“It was obviously disappointing to find out I am no longer on the front bench. But the result of holding on to my Senate seat and winning from the bottom has just been absolutely overwhelming and miraculous. I know there are a lot of people in our Labor party who wanted me to continue on the frontbench, myself included,” she said.
It was obviously disappointing to find out I am no longer on the front bench. But the result of holding on to my Senate seat and winning from the bottom has just been absolutely overwhelming and miraculous. I know there are a lot of people in our Labor party who wanted me to continue on the frontbench, myself included.
Though, many Indian-origin candidates were in the fray this election, but Ms Singh is the only federal parliamentarian with the Indian heritage to be elected. She is hoping to see more members from the subcontinent in the parliament in the times to come.
“In future, we need to look at the safe seats compared to the marginal seats, ensuring that diversity continues in our parliament. I certainly don’t want to be the only person of subcontinental heritage in our parliament and I do hope it does change. But I am glad that I am there as someone representing our heritage,” she said.
