Alex Bhathal

Last updated

Alex Bhathal
Personal details
Political party Australian Greens
Alma mater RMIT University, La Trobe University, University of Melbourne
OccupationSocial worker, former politician
Website https://alexbhathal.com/

Alexandra Kaur Bhathal [1] (born 1964 or 1965) [2] is a social worker and former politician. She is most known as a perennial candidate for the Australian Greens in the Division of Batman, having stood on six occasions; 2001, 2004, 2010, 2013, 2016, and at the 2018 Batman by-election. [3] Bhathal was also the candidate for the state Electoral district of Northcote in 2006. [4]

Contents

Early life

Bhathal's father was a Punjabi Sikh from a village near Verka Town, India. [1]

2018 by-election

Bhathal's campaign was damaged when a 101-page document containing claims of bullying by Bhathal was leaked. [5] After the by-election, an internal Greens review dismissed the allegations against Bhathal, and apologised to her. [5]

After politics

Bhathal was planned to be the candidate for the Division of Cooper [lower-alpha 1] at the 2019 Australian federal election, but withdrew in August 2018, stating that her previous campaign had been "sabotaged" by individuals within the party. [6]

In February 2019, Bhathal resigned from the Australian Greens, stating she had been the victim of "relentless organisational bullying" over several years. [7]

A documentary was made about Bhathal's unsuccessful campaign in 2018, entitled The Candidate. [8] The screening of the film in July 2019 was sabotaged, with the fire alarm being set off as soon as the film started. [9]






Footnotes

  1. The division of Batman was abolished prior to the 2019 election, and the division of Cooper was created, with boundaries similar to Batman's.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Alex Kaur Bhathal - Greens candidate for Batman, VIC". SBS Language. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  2. "20 Questions with Alex Bhathal". Australian Greens. 26 May 2016. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  3. Manning, Paddy (6 February 2018). "Sixth time lucky? Meet Alex Bhathal". The Monthly. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  4. "Curriculum Vitae". Alex Bhathal. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  5. 1 2 Preiss, Benjamin (7 August 2018). "Greens apologise to Alex Bhathal over handling of bullying complaint". The Age. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  6. Henriques-Gomes, Luke (10 August 2018). "'Sabotage': perennial Greens candidate Alex Bhathal won't contest next election". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  7. Henriques-Gomes, Luke (1 February 2019). "Former Greens candidate Alex Bhathal quits party, blaming 'organisational bullying'". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  8. Towell, Noel (8 July 2019). "Greens' candidate horror show comes to the big screen". The Age. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  9. "Chaos at Greens screening". The Australian . 29 July 2019.