Kaushaliya Vaghela

Last updated

MLC
Kaushaliya Vaghela
Secretary of the New Democrats
Assumed office
2022
SpouseDinesh Chauhan [2]
Parents
  • Virjibhai Vaghela [1] (father)
  • Yamunaben Gohil [1] (mother)
Alma mater RMIT University [3]
Occupation
  • Research Assistant
  • Part Time Ministerial Advisor
  • Politician
Website kaushaliyavaghela.com.au

Kaushaliya Virjibhai Vaghela is a former Australian politician. She was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 2018 to 2022, representing the Western Metropolitan Region. [4] She was the first Indian-born member of the Victorian Parliament, [5] and is a Hindu. [1] Before her preselection in 2018, she briefly worked as a part-time adviser to then-State Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Robin Scott.

Contents

Resignation from the ALP

On 9 February 2022, Vaghela crossed the floor in support of Adem Somyurek's motion to refer the Andrews government to the Victorian Ombudsman in relation to the alleged misuse of taxpayer funds, involving the diversion of parliamentary staffing resources to political campaigning and party factional activities prior to the 2014 Victorian state election. [6]

In March 2022, Vaghela resigned from Labor, making serious allegations of bullying against the party. Her criticisms were aired after she had been left off the Labor ticket for the 2022 state election, following an investigation by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) into the conduct of her husband, Dinesh Chauhan, and staff members. [7]

New Democrats party

In August 2022, Vaghela announced that she had formed the New Democrats party, with her as its secretary. After the party gained registration with the Victorian Electoral Commission in October 2022, she claimed that almost 2,000 people had joined in response to her appeal for support. [8]

Vaghela was defeated at the 2022 state election, polling 0.5%. The New Democrats polled 0.2% across Victoria. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

Inga Peulich is a former Australian politician. She was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council representing South Eastern Metropolitan Region from 2006 to 2018 and before that the Member for Bentleigh from 1992 to 2002. From 2014 to 2018, Peulich served as the Victorian Liberal Party's Shadow Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Shadow Minister for Scrutiny of Government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenny Mikakos</span> Australian politician

Jenny Mikakos is a former Australian politician for the Labor Party who was a Member of the Legislative Council of Victoria from 1999 to 2020. She served as the Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services and Minister for the Coordination of Health and Human Services COVID-19 as well as Deputy Leader of the Government, but resigned these positions and from parliament on 26 September 2020 in the wake of criticism of her role in hotel quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adem Somyurek</span> Turkish Australian politician and Victorian State Minister

Adem Kubilay Somyurek is an Australian politician. He has served as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council currently representing the Northern Metropolitan Region.

Russell John Northe is an Australian former politician who was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 2006 until his retirement in 2022. Prior to winning preselection by The Nationals for the seat of Morwell, he was a local Australian rules footballer. He resigned from The Nationals in August 2017, and served the rest of his time in office as an independent member of parliament. Following Northe's retirement at the 2022 state election, National member Martin Cameron won Northe's previous seat of Morwell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacinta Allan</span> Premier of Victoria since 2023

Jacinta Marie Allan is an Australian politician serving as the 49th and current premier of Victoria since 2023. She has been the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2023 and has been a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the district of Bendigo East since 1999. She previously served as the 29th deputy premier of Victoria from 2022 to 2023. Allan is the longest-serving female minister in Victorian state history and currently the most senior sitting member of the Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Guy</span> Australian politician

Matthew Jason Guy is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party member of the Parliament of Victoria since 2006, representing the Northern Metropolitan Region in the Legislative Council (2006–2014) and Bulleen in the Legislative Assembly (2014–present). He was Leader of the Opposition in Victoria and state leader of the Liberal Party from 2014 to 2018, when he resigned the leadership after the Liberal Party's landslide defeat in the 2018 Victorian election. From 7 September 2021, Guy again served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Party in Victoria, but he again resigned after another heavy defeat in the 2022 state election.

Peter Lindsay Walsh is an Australian politician. He has been a National Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2002, representing the electorate of Swan Hill until 2014 and Murray Plains thereafter. Walsh was Minister for Agriculture and Food Security and Minister for Water in the Baillieu and Napthine Coalition governments. He has been state leader of the Nationals since 3 December 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marlene Kairouz</span> Australian politician

Marlene Kairouz is a former Australian politician. She was a Labor member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly between 2008 and 2022, representing the electoral district of Kororoit. She was the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation between 2016 and 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoff Shaw (politician)</span> Australian politician

Geoffrey Page Shaw is an Australian politician who represented Frankston in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 2010 to 2014. He was initially a member of the Parliamentary Liberal Party until March 2013, before becoming an independent politician. In March 2014, Shaw resigned as a member of the Liberal Party as moves were being made to expel him from the party.

This is a list of candidates for the 2014 Victorian state election. The election was held on 29 November 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission</span> Australian police oversight organisation

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) is Victoria's anti-corruption integrity agency with jurisdiction over the public sector. It does this by:

Juliana Marie Addison is an Australian politician serving as the elected member for the Electoral district of Wendouree in the Victorian Legislative Assembly. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Andrews ministry</span> 70th ministry of Victoria, Australia

The Second Andrews ministry was the 70th ministry of the Government of Victoria. The Labor government, led by Premier Daniel Andrews and Deputy Premier James Merlino, was officially sworn in on 29 November 2018, following the party's second consecutive victory at the 2018 state election, which was held on 24 November 2018.

This is a list of members of the Victorian Legislative Council, as elected at the 2018 state election. It includes members who were appointed to replace members who left office during this period.

Catherine Rebecca Cumming is a former Australian politician. She was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council from November 2018 to November 2022, representing the Western Metropolitan Region. She stood at the 2018 Victorian state election as a candidate for Derryn Hinch's Justice Party, but broke with the party just weeks after being elected, and was sworn in as an independent. A frequent speaker at anti-COVID vaccine rallies, Cumming joined the Angry Victorians Party in 2022 but was unsuccessful in her re-election attempt, gaining just 0.57% of the vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Victorian state election</span> Election for the 60th Parliament of Victoria

The 2022 Victorian state election was held on Saturday, 26 November 2022 to elect the 60th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly and all 40 seats in the Legislative Council were up for election at the time the writs were issued, however the election in the district of Narracan was deferred due to the death of a candidate.

Sheena Watt is an Australian politician, who has been a member of the Victorian Legislative Council for Northern Metropolitan Region since 13 October 2020. A Yorta Yorta woman, she is the first Indigenous Australian woman to represent the Australian Labor Party in the Parliament of Victoria. She previously held the roles of Parliamentary Secretary for Housing since June 2022 and Parliamentary Secretary for Volunteers since December 2022.

Luba Norma Grigorovitch is an Australian politician. She represents the Labor Party and is a former trade union official.

This is a list of the candidates of the 2022 Victorian state election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Democrats (Victoria)</span> Political party in Australia

The New Democrats (ND), also known as the New Democrats Party (NDP), is a Australian political party founded in 2022 by then-Victorian MLC Kaushaliya Vaghela.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Parliament of Victoria – Kaushaliya Vaghela Inaugural Speech". hansard.parliament.vic.gov.au. Parliament of Victoria. 19 December 2018.
  2. Bucci, Nino (1 November 2021). "Victorian MP's husband paid taxpayer-funded salary for factional work, Ibac hears". Guardian Australia .
  3. Wyeth, Grant (24 March 2021). "Under-representation of Asian Australians". electionwatch.unimelb.edu.au. Asia Institute, University of Melbourne.
  4. "Victoria Votes - Western Metropolitan Region". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  5. "'I'm a fanatic for freedom, fairness, feminism', says Kaushaliya Vaghela". The Indian Sun. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  6. Ilanbey, Sumeyya (9 February 2022). "Labor MP crosses floor to back fresh investigation into red shirts scandal". The Age. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  7. "Victorian MP Kaushaliya Vaghela quits Labor after alleging systemic bullying". ABC News. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  8. "Indian-origin Victorian State MP Kaushaliya Vaghela announces new political party". NRI Affairs. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  9. "Legislative Council Results - VIC Election 2022". abcnews.net.au. ABC News. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.