Michelle Ananda-Rajah

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Michelle Ananda-Rajah
MP
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Higgins
Assumed office
21 May 2022
Preceded by Katie Allen
Personal details
Born ( 1972-12-10 ) 10 December 1972 (age 51) [1]
London , United Kingdom
Political party Labor
Alma mater University of Melbourne (PhD)
University of Sydney (MBBS (Hons))
Profession Medical doctor

Michelle Renuka Ananda-Rajah ( Tamil : ?????? ????????? ; [ citation needed ] born 10 December 1972) is an Australian politician. Ananda-Rajah was elected for the Division of Higgins in the 2022 Australian federal election as a member of the Australian Labor Party . [2] [3] Prior to entering politics, she was a clinician-scientist, and infectious diseases physician. [4]

Early life [ edit ]

Ananda-Rajah was born in London to Tamil parents who had fled from Sri Lanka in the early 1970s prior to the Sri Lankan Civil War . [5] She lived in Zambia for 11 years until she moved to Australia as a child. [5] Ananda-Rajah became an Australian citizen in 1996. She renounced her British citizenship in 2021. [1]

Ananda-Rajah achieved her bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery (MBBS) in 1997 and her PhD in 2014 from the University of Sydney . [5]

Career [ edit ]

Ananda-Rajah worked as a clinician-researcher and physician in infectious diseases and general medicine at Alfred Health for 13 years. [6] She is a graduate of USyd with honours and underwent speciality training in Victoria. In 2019, she was awarded a prestigious TRIP (Translating Research Into Practice) fellowship by the Medical Research Future Fund and appointed to JAMA Network Open as a statistical and methods reviewer. [6]

Ananda-Rajah has published over 50 scientific papers and held several editorial roles in medical journals. [7]

Ananda-Rajah is the co-founder of Healthcare Workers Australia, a grass roots advocacy group which has campaigned since August 2020 for improved respiratory protection. [8]

Politics [ edit ]

Ananda-Rajah was preselected as the Labor candidate for Higgins in July 2021, ahead of the 2022 Australian federal election . [9] She trailed Liberal incumbent Katie Allen for most of the night. However, on the seventh count, the Green candidate's preferences flowed overwhelmingly to Ananda-Rajah. This gave Ananda-Rajah a 2.4% swing in primary vote and a 4.6% swing in two party preferred vote, to win the seat with a two party preferred vote of 52%, or a little under 4,000 votes. By winning, Ananda-Rajah became the first Labor member for Higgins in the seat's 73-year history. [10]

In December 2023 Ananda-Rajah travelled to Israel following the October 7 attacks. [11] Her travel and hospitality were funded by AIJAC . [12]

Personal life [ edit ]

Ananda-Rajah lives in Melbourne with her husband and two children. [6] She is one of the largest property owners in the Parliament, co-owning four residential/investment properties with her husband. [13]

References [ edit ]

  1. ^ a b "QUALIFICATION CHECKLIST" (PDF) . Australian Electoral Commission . Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 May 2022 . Retrieved 2 June 2022 .
  2. ^ "Labor on track to win marginal seats of Chisholm and Higgins from Liberal Party" . ABC News . 21 May 2022. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022 . Retrieved 21 May 2022 .
  3. ^ "Too little too late: voters turn on Morrison in affluent seat of Higgins" . the Guardian . 19 May 2022 . Retrieved 21 May 2022 .
  4. ^ "Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah" . Archived from the original on 1 November 2022 . Retrieved 22 May 2022 .
  5. ^ a b c Sanchayan, Kulasegaram; Dixon, Carl (15 August 2022). " 'I represent Australia's migrant story': Tamil-origin MP says diverse parliament benefits all" . SBS . Archived from the original on 27 December 2022 . Retrieved 27 December 2022 .
  6. ^ a b c "Michelle Ananda-Rajah" . Q+A . Archived from the original on 1 May 2024 . Retrieved 1 May 2024 .
  7. ^ " 'I represent Australia's migrant story': Tamil-origin MP says diverse parliament benefits all" . SBS Language . Archived from the original on 27 December 2022 . Retrieved 1 May 2024 .
  8. ^ "Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah" . Archived from the original on 1 November 2022 . Retrieved 22 May 2022 .
  9. ^ "Labor preselects outspoken AstraZeneca critic to run as candidate in Higgins" .
  10. ^ "Higgins (Key Seat) - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results" . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . Archived from the original on 14 June 2022 . Retrieved 13 June 2022 .
  11. ^ Knott, Matthew (6 December 2023). "Simon Birmingham, Josh Burns lead cross-party visit to Israel" . The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 1 May 2024 . Retrieved 1 May 2024 .
  12. ^ "The private interests of Michelle Ananda-Rajah MP" . Open Politics . Retrieved 31 May 2024 .
  13. ^ Karp, Paul; Butler, Josh (30 August 2022). "Home advantage: federal politicians' hefty property portfolios revealed in register of interests" . The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 31 May 2024 .
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