Sada-e-Watan Sydney
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Community’s voice: Shaoquett
Moselmane for Barton
(By: Zia Ahmad, Editor-in-Chief of the Australasian Muslim Times
AMUST)
Mr Shaoquett Moselmane,
a popular politician amongst Sydney’s multicultural community has been urged to
nominate for the preselection for the federal seat of Barton recently vacated
by Linda Burney. Community leaders have called on the Prime Minister Anthony
Albanese to endorse him.
Announcing his willingness to
do so, Mr Moselmane while addressing his supporters said, “As a resident of
Barton since 1977 and as one serving the Australian Labor Party for over 42
years, I have been urged to nominate for Barton. And so
I have decided to express my interest for Barton. Looking forward to your
support and to be your voice in Federal Parliament.”
Mr Moselmane is an
Australian former politician who was a member of the New South Wales
Legislative Council from 2009 to 2023 as a member of the
parliamentary New South Wales Labor Party. He was assistant president of
the Legislative Council from May 2019 to April 2020.
A number of community leaders
have expressed concern about the delay in the preselection’s for the federal
seat of Barton and of senior government members seeking to impose their own
‘stooge’ candidate; saying, why trash the ALP’s pre selection
rules and yet again deny local branch members the right to select their own?
They have urged that a rank-and-file
pre selection must take place in Barton and good luck
to all genuine local ALP members who wish to nominate. The ALP must not allow
the hijacking of party rules by any one or any group in or outside the Party.
Mr Moselmane is a man of
principles from which he has never wavered, where his whole life has been about
standing up for the oppressed where ever they may be,
standing up for indigenous Australians or the Rohingya, or the Palestinians has
been his hallmark.
He is the most suitable and
most representative of the community, is most deserving and must be endorsed by
the PM for preselection for the seat of Barton.
Mr Moselmane, a member of the
ALP since 1982, was elected to the Legislative Council of the NSW Parliament in
December 2009.
He was earlier elected to
Rockdale City Council in 1995 where he served a number of times as Deputy Mayor
and was elected Mayor of Rockdale City Council on four separate occasions, from
2001 to 2002 -3, 2005 – 2006 and again in 2009.
He has a long-standing
involvement with various communities including South Asian, Arabic, Greek, Italian,
Macedonian, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Nepalese and many other
multicultural communities.
Born in Kounin, South Lebanon,
Mr Moselmane grew up in Beirut until the age of 11 when he migrated to
Australia with his family of 12.
He completed an Arts Degree in
Government and Public Administration at the University of Sydney, then a Masters Degree
in Politics at Macquarie University and finally completed his Law Degree
at the University of New South Wales.
In 2012, Mr Moselmane
established the Multicultural and Indigenous Media Awards, which recognises
outstanding Multicultural and Indigenous media and journalists across
Australia.
In 2014, he established the
National Indigenous Human Rights Awards, the first of its kind in Australia.
Mr Moselmane is the Chair of
the Sydney Institute of Public and International Affairs, the Forum for Middle
East Affairs, as well as the Kids-on-Wheels Alliance Inc, registered charity
which manufactures and distributes wheelchairs for children living with a
disability.
