Melbourne:
Dave Sharma, who became the first lawmaker of Indian origin in the Australian Parliament in 2019, will return to politics after his victory in the race for the New South Wales Liberal Senate.
Sharma, 47, will replace former Foreign Minister Marise Payne, who has resigned from the Senate, the Australian Associated Press reported.
Mr Sharma, who represented the Sydney seat of Wentworth until his defeat at the 2022 election, defeated former New South Wales (NSW) minister Andrew Constance, a front-runner backed by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
In a vote by members of the New South Wales Liberal Party, Mr Sharma defeated Constance 251-206 in the final vote on Sunday, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Sharma, who served as Australia’s ambassador to Israel from 2013 to 2017, was backed by moderates within the party.
Claiming that it was a privilege to take over from former Senator Payne, Mr Sharma said: “I would like to thank party members for the opportunity to hold the Albanian government to account in the Senate for its many missteps and wrong decisions , and to fight for the many New South Wales (NSW) households struggling with Labor’s cost of living.”
“The opportunity to serve in the Senate will allow me to fight for our country’s national security interests at a time of greater global unrest,” he said in the report.
Opposition Leader Dutton congratulated him on securing the position in the NSW Senate and said Sharma’s entry into the Senate would come at a crucial time.
“His diplomatic and foreign policy expertise will bring significant weight and wisdom to the public policy debate, given the precarious conditions in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific,” Dutton said in a statement.
Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley claimed Mr Sharma was a “suitable replacement” for Payne, saying: “Dave Sharma will bring a unique perspective to the Australian Senate.”
In 2019, Mr Sharma made history by becoming the first lawmaker of Indian origin in the Australian parliament after winning a seat in a Sydney suburb in the federal election.
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