A truly culturally diverse government. I’ve waited almost 32 years to see it, but it’s here.
In truth, it’s hard to quantify the surge of pride I felt yesterday when an image popped up on my phone of what that looks like.
The photo didn’t include the usual smattering of token Anglo women pushed to the front surrounded by a sea of white, cookie-cutter men. It was actually a caucus that comprised 43 percent women, from different backgrounds, cultures and life experiences.
A swathe of new vibrant faces like Sally Sitou the member for Reid, Zaneta Mascarenhas for Swan, Cassandra Fernando for Holt and Michelle Ananda-Rajah for Higgins.
Sam Lim, the cop-turned dolphin trainer from Malaysia who recently spoke publicly about his disadvantaged childhood and courageous pursuit for social justice, standing proudly at the front as the newly elected MP for WA’s seat of Tangney.
This is what Australia truly looks like and how it should be embraced, and these are the people who will represent the interests of all of us, not merely a select few.
In Anthony Albanese we have a leader who recognises the value of that. He is someone who understands and has lived through adversity and proudly enabled it to shape the person he is. He talks freely about his childhood and the immense challenges his single mother Maryanne, a disability pensioner, would face to afford him opportunity.
As an Australian Prime Minister he breaks the mould, but in an entirely necessary way.
“What we should do is seek to reach out and to be an inclusive society and how we conduct ourselves is very much a part of that,” Albanese announced yesterday. Revealing his new Cabinet, he noted that it comprised “the largest number of women who have ever served”.
“This is an exciting team,” he said. “It’s a team which is overflowing with talent, with people who are absolutely committed to making a difference as ministers and assistant ministers in my government.”
“A record number in all three categories for women’s representation in cabinet, in ministry and in frontbench positions.”
Nine years ago, as Angela Priestley recalls, just one woman stood awkwardly in former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s Cabinet. Then Foreign Affairs Minister, Julie Bishop would go on to leave politics following the 2019 Liberal leadership spill.
In less than a decade, we have come a long way. We are evolving as a country and while there are still significant leaps to make before equality becomes reality, it is heartening beyond measure to see true progress. These are not token efforts, or box-ticking exercises, but a reflection of what most Australians want to see.
As a culturally diverse woman who has never witnessed it before, it’s a mammoth moment. I won’t be forgetting it in a hurry.