Mihailuk was the first woman to represent Bankstown in the electoral district's history,serving in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2023. She initially served as a member of the Labor Party before resigning from the party in 2022. She joined One Nation in January 2023 and ran for the Legislative Council on the party's ticket at the March election,at which she was unsuccessful. Mihailuk was appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council on 10 May 2023,filling a casual vacancy created by the resignation of Mark Latham,shortly before the 2023 New South Wales state election.
Background and education
Mihailuk attended Macquarie University and graduated with a degree in economics and in law. She later obtained a Master of Law from the University of Sydney. She has worked in various industries,including marketing and public policy.[3]
Political career
Bankstown Council
Mihailuk was elected to Bankstown Council in 2004 and became mayor in 2006.[4]
In November 2010,Mihailuk was endorsed as the Labor candidate for Bankstown after sitting member Tony Stewart announced his resignation.[5] She stated she would resign from council if she won,which she did,having suffered a swing against her of more than 15 points,as part of the Coalition's landslide election win.[6]
On 20 September 2022,Mihailuk used parliamentary privilege to link Canterbury-Bankstown Council mayor,Khal Asfour,to corrupt former Labor Minister Eddie Obeid,which was a stark contrast with her prominent thanks of Asfour in her maiden parliamentary speech for being her campaign director.[7] On 23 September,Labor Opposition Leader,Chris Minns,demoted Mihailuk from the Shadow Cabinet.[8][9] On 20 October 2022,Mihailuk resigned from the NSW Labor Party,claiming that the party was "plagued by corruption"[10] and that it was "too woke".[11]
Legislative Council
On 17 January 2023,Mihailuk announced that she would be running second on the One Nation ticket at the upcoming 2023 New South Wales state election for the Legislative Council,behind state party leader Mark Latham.[12][13] Before that,in 2017 when she was a Labor MP she criticised One Nation and Mark Latham.[11] Mihailuk officially resigned from the New South Wales Legislative Assembly on 1 March 2023.[13] As the second place on the party ticket,she was not successful in her election. However,on 10 May 2023,she was appointed to the Legislative Council to fill the casual vacancy previously held by Latham,who had resigned earlier from the Legislative Council to successfully contest a new 8-year term in the election.[14] Mihailuk would finish off the remainder of Latham's original 8-year in 2027.
Following the sacking of Latham as state party leader by party founder and federal leader Pauline Hanson,Mihailuk became state party leader in December 2023.[15] Mihailuk announced her resignation from One Nation on 20 December 2024.[16]
In addition to her parliamentary work,Mihailuk is a regular political commentator on Sky News Australia,appearing weekly on Prime Time with Danica De Giorgio.[17]
Shadow ministerial roles (2011–2022)
During her tenure,she held various shadow ministerial roles:
Shadow Minister for Fair Trading,Healthy Lifestyles,Volunteering and Youth (21 October 2011 –8 April 2015)
Mihailuk advocated for stronger consumer protections,including stricter regulations on insurance-funded auto repairs and enhanced protections for home building warranties and structural defects in apartments and strata schemes.[18][19][20]
Shadow Minister for Family and Community Services,Mental Health,Medical Research,Social Housing (9 April 2015 –27 November 2018)
Mihailuk championed reforms in the child protection system,asking for independent auditing of out of home care providers,stricter working with children’s checks,and greater support for children in foster care.[21]
In 2017,following the death of mental health patient Miriam Merten at Lismore Base Hospital due to prolonged seclusion,Mihailuk described the incident as a "Don Dale moment" for NSW. Her advocacy led to an independent review by the Chief Psychiatrist,resulting in 19 recommendations to reduce the use of seclusion and restraint in mental health facilities,all of which were accepted by the government.[22][23]
Shadow Minister for Planning and Housing (27 November 2018 –3 July 2019)
Mihailuk coordinated a Social and Affordable Housing roundtable of industry wide stakeholders to develop a policy of inclusionary zoning quotas for brownfield and greenfield developments to increase housing supply and to address housing affordability. This included an audit of vacant Government owned land to be converted to increased social and affordable housing developments.[24][25]
Shadow Minister for Natural Resources (12 June 2021 –23 September 2022)
Mihailuk supported regional industries,including forestry and mining,arguing for balanced environmental and economic policies. Ms Mihailuk as a Shadow Minister advocated for policies to support the $15 billion dollar NSW mining industry which employs over 38,000 direct and indirect jobs in NSW. She is also the co-chair of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Forestry.[26][27]
References
↑ Jonathan O'Dea (5 May 2021). "Member for Bankstown". Legislative Assembly Hansard. Parliament of New South Wales: Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
↑ Tania Mihailuk (25 May 2011). "Inaugural Speeches". Legislative Assembly Hansard. State of New South Wales through the Parliament of New South Wales: Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2023. I am eager to place on record my enormous gratitude to the many people who assisted and supported me in the election, many of whom are here today. First among them I thank my campaign director, Khal Asfour, for his unstinting support and loyalty. Khal worked with a fantastic campaign team— ... the Asfour family and all the team that came out in force on election day.
↑ Prime Time with Danica De Giorgio (News, Talk-Show), Danica De Giorgio, Tania Mihailuk, Emily Carver, Sky News Australia, 21 January 2024, retrieved 21 May 2025{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
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