More Asian-Australian Candidates in May 3 Election Down Under

Political parties recognise that Parliament should reflect the country's population

- Jonathan Pearlman

SYDNEY - One of the most closely watched races in Australia's election on May 3 will be in Sydney, where Labor candidate Tu Le, a lawyer, is trying to win the seat of Fowler from independent MP Dai Le, a former journalist.

It is no surprise that both candidates share Vietnamese heritage. According to the last census in 2021, 19 per cent of the seat's 173,000 residents have Vietnamese ancestry, making them the largest ethnic group, followed by Chinese Australians (13 per cent), and those of Australian ancestry (9 per cent).

Yet, at the last election in May 2022, Labor, which had held the seat since it was founded in 1984, passed over Ms Tu Le - the expected candidate - and selected an American-born Australian candidate, Ms Kristina Keneally, a former New South Wales premier.

Ms Keneally, who did not live in the area, lost to Ms Dai Le, who said the attempt to foist Ms Keneally on the electorate was arrogant and a "slap in the face" to locals.

Labor appears to have learnt its lesson. Ms Tu Le is now contesting the seat and welcomed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the electorate on April 4. Standing alongside her, he distanced himself from his party's decision to overlook her in 2022.

"I encouraged her to be the candidate and I think she'll make a fantastic Member for Fowler," he told reporters.

Both sides of the political aisle recognise that their candidates — and the make-up of the country's Parliament - should reflect the growing Asian-Australian population. More than 17 per cent of the country's population of 27 million are Asian-Australian. Currently, 12 of the 227 MPs - or 5 per cent - are Asian-Australian.

Ahead of the May election, a series of Asian-Australian candidates have emerged in key races as Labor and the Liberal-National Coalition gradually respond to the changing demographics.