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Mehreen Faruqi

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Senator
Mehreen Faruqi
Faruqi in 2015
Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens
Incumbent
Assumed office
10 June 2022
LeaderAdam Bandt
Preceded byNick McKim and Larissa Waters
Senator for New South Wales
Incumbent
Assumed office
15 August 2018
Preceded byLee Rhiannon
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
In office
19 June 2013 – 14 August 2018
Preceded byCate Faehrmann
Succeeded byCate Faehrmann
Personal details
Born (1963-07-08) 8 July 1963 (age 61)
Lahore, West Pakistan
(present-day Punjab, Pakistan)
NationalityAustralian
Pakistani (formerly)
Political partyGreens
Alma materUniversity of Engineering and Technology, Lahore
University of New South Wales
OccupationEnvironmental engineer
WebsiteOfficial website

Mehreen Saeed Faruqi (born 8 July 1963) is a Pakistani-born Australian politician and former engineer who has been a Senator for New South Wales since 15 August 2018, representing the Greens. She was chosen to fill a casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Lee Rhiannon, before being elected in her own right in 2019. She had previously served in the New South Wales Legislative Council between June 2013 and August 2018. Since June 2022, Faruqi has served as Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens.

Early life

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Faruqi was born on 8 July 1963[1] in Lahore, Pakistan.[2] Her father, a civil engineer, was a professor at the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) in Lahore and she grew up on the UET campus. She graduated from UET with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) degree in 1988, and subsequently worked as a structural engineer. Her older brothers, younger sister, husband, and father-in-law are also civil engineers. Faruqi and her husband Omar moved to Sydney in 1992 as skilled economic migrants, where she began attending the University of New South Wales (UNSW); her father had previously studied there under the Colombo Plan in the 1950s.[3] She completed a Master of Engineering Science degree in 1994, and later received a doctorate in environmental engineering in 2000,[2] with her doctoral thesis titled "Intensification of anaerobic lagoons for abattoir wastewater treatment and biogas recovery".[4] Faruqi moved to Port Macquarie in 2001, but moved back to Sydney in 2006. She and her husband have two children together, including Osman Faruqi, a political journalist.[3]

Faruqi was one of three MPs in the 46th Parliament of Australia who graduated from high school outside Australia (the others being Gladys Liu and Kristina Keneally), and one of eleven MPs who possessed a PhD (the others being Katie Allen, Fiona Martin, Anne Aly, Andrew Leigh, Daniel Mulino, Jess Walsh, Adam Bandt, Jim Chalmers, Anne Webster and Helen Haines).[5]

Career

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Engineering career

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Before her appointment to the Legislative Council, Faruqi had a 25-year career as a professional engineer and academic. She worked in positions in local government, consulting firms and higher education institutions in Australia and internationally. These included roles such as Manager of Environment and Services at Mosman Council, Manager of Natural Resources and Catchments for Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, and as the Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at UNSW.[2]

At the time she was appointed to the New South Wales parliament, she was Academic Director of the Master of Business and Technology Program and an associate professor at the Australian Graduate School of Management for UNSW.[2]

State politics

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Faruqi joined the Greens in 2004 in Port Macquarie and ran as a candidate for the Legislative Assembly seat of Heffron in 2011 and at the 2012 by-election. She was chosen to replace Cate Faehrmann in the Legislative Council in 2013, becoming the first Muslim woman to be a member of an Australian parliament.[6] Her term in the council began on 19 June 2013.[2]

In parliament, Faruqi held several portfolios for The Greens NSW: Animal Welfare, Drugs and Harm Minimisation, Environment, Lower Mid North Coast, Multiculturalism, Roads & Ports, Status of Women, Transport, Western Sydney, and Young People.[2]

Faruqi is a vocal pro-choice advocate, introducing the first parliamentary bill to decriminalise abortion in New South Wales in June 2014.[7] Faruqi is also an advocate for public transport and environmental sustainability. In March 2014, she successfully moved a motion in parliament ordering the release of all government documents relating to the creation of the business case for the WestConnex motorway. This uncovered evidence of the NSW government's plan for mass outsourcing of public service work[8] and uncertainty among WestConnex staff and advisers on the viability of the project.[9]

In February 2018, Faruqi attempted to block the Christian Friends of Israeli Communities from hosting an event on the basis of Israel's settlement policy in the West Bank.[10]

Faruqi resigned her position in the parliament after giving her farewell speech on 14 August 2018.[11]

Federal politics

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On 25 November 2017, Faruqi defeated incumbent New South Wales Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon in a pre-selection contest for the first spot on the NSW Greens Senate ballot at the 2019 federal election.[12] Rhiannon resigned her Senate position on 15 August 2018 and on the same day Faruqi was appointed to fill the vacant seat by a joint sitting of the New South Wales Parliament.[1][13] She was sworn in on 20 August 2018, becoming the first female Muslim senator in Australian history.[14]

Faruqi was re-elected in the 2019 federal election, securing 8.7% of the state's vote, with a swing of 1.32 points in her favour.[15]

In Parliament, Faruqi has been a noted critic of horse racing and greyhound racing in Australia.[16][17] In 2021, Faruqi released a Horse Racing Transition Plan on Twitter,[18] and in 2023 proposed repurposing 'racetracks for green spaces and community facilities'.[19] Faruqi has been widely criticised by figures within the racing industry for her opposition to horse and greyhound racing.[20][21][22][23]

Following the 2022 federal election, Faruqi was elected as the Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens.[24] Faruqi has been criticised for her investments in property.[25]


Following the death of Elizabeth II, Faruqi stated "I cannot mourn the leader of a racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonised peoples" as she called for a republic. Faruqi was criticised for the comments, and said she was subject to racial abuse over them.[26][27] In September 2022, Pauline Hanson tweeted that Faruqi should "piss off back to Pakistan". This came after Faruqi was slammed over an "appalling" tweet about the Queen.[28] Subsequently, Faruqi decided to launch court proceedings against Hanson for "breaching section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975".[29] On 1 November 2024 it was reported that Federal Court of Australia judge Angus Stewart had ruled that Hanson's tweet was an "angry personal attack", unconnected with the issues Faruqi raised, and was therefore "anti-Muslim or Islamophobic". Hanson was ordered to delete the tweet and was awarded costs for the entire proceedings. Hanson said that she would appeal the decision.[30]

On 9 October 2023, Faruqi criticised the decision to illuminate Parliament House in the colours of the Israeli flag (blue and white) to show solidarity with the people of Israel in the wake of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. Faruqi wrote on Twitter 'One colonial government supporting another. What a disgrace. #FreePalestine'.[31] In response, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Faruqi 'trying to play politics with this issue'.[32] The Australian Jewish News also expressed their disappointment with Faruqi's comments,[33] which were made two days after the initial 7 October attack. Faruqi, referring to the Israeli blockade of Gaza, said "Throwing bombs of white phosphorus is not defending yourself, denying 2.3 million people of food, water, electricity, fuel is not defending yourself." Senator Jordon Steele-John echoed her statements, saying that "It is a complete siege, a textbook definition of collective punishment" and criticised the government failure to condemn Israeli "crime against humanity."[34][35]

Subsequently, on Monday 6 November 2023, Faruqi led her Greens colleagues in a Senate walkout, protesting the Albanese government's refusal to call for a ceasefire to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.[36] Faruqi lambasted the Albanese government as 'gutless, heartless, cowards.' She stated that "You are watching the massacre of thousands of Palestinians by Israel, and you are not condemning Israel, you refuse to call for an immediate ceasefire," to which Labor Senator Don Farrell responded that Faruqi and her colleagues were 'making hay' out of the tragic situation.[37] Faruqi later stated it was "disgraceful" and "despicable" of Farrell to frame the Greens' calls for a ceasefire as a "political play".[38][39]

Key published works

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  • Harding, R, Hendriks, CM, and Faruqi, M. (2009). Environmental Decision-Making - Exploring complexity and context, Federation Press, Sydney. ISBN 9781862877481
  • Faruqi, M. (2012). 'Embracing Complexity To Enable Change', in: D. Rigling Gallagher; N. Christiansen and P. Andrews; eds, Environmental Leadership: A Reference Handbook, Vol. 2, pp. 772–781, Sage, Thousand Oaks, California. ISBN 9781412981514
  • Faruqi, Mehreen (2021). Too Migrant, Too Muslim, Too Loud. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-76087-818-4.

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Senator Mehreen Faruqi". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC". Former members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  3. ^ a b Greens' Mehreen Faruqi an engineer with a vision of diversity, The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 February 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  4. ^ Faruqi, Mehreen S. (1999). Intensification of anaerobic lagoons for abattoir wastewater treatment and biogas recovery. University of New South Wales Library (Thesis). University of New South Wales. doi:10.26190/unsworks/8233. hdl:1959.4/62926. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Pathways to Parliament". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Muslim Green set for tough test".
  7. ^ Corderoy, Amy (18 June 2014). "Greens launch push to decriminalise abortion in NSW". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  8. ^ Saulwick, Jacob (27 March 2014). "Barry O'Farrell to outsource thousands of jobs". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  9. ^ Saulwick, Jacob (4 April 2014). "WestConnex has a numbers issue: What are they?". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  10. ^ "Greens MLC slams pro-Israel Christian group". The Australian Jewish News.
  11. ^ "Legislative Council Hansard – 14 August 2018 – Proof". Parliament of New South Wales. 14 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Lee Rhiannon loses NSW Greens preselection Senate spot to Mehreen Faruqi". ABC News. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  13. ^ "The New South Wales Parliament has selected Dr @MehreenFaruqi to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator @leerhiannon". Australian Senate. Twitter. 15 August 2018.
  14. ^ "First female Muslim senator Mehreen Faruqi sworn in". SBS News. 20 August 2018.
  15. ^ "Senate Results - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". ABC News. Retrieved 21 July 2019.
  16. ^ Shepherd, Tory (29 October 2022). "Ambivalence towards horse racing leaves Melbourne Cup half full". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Cancelled Parade signals the clock is ticking for the Melbourne Cup". Australian Greens. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  18. ^ "It's time to shut down commercial horse racing. The gambling-fuelled commercial horse racing industry is inhumane, deadly and incompatible with animal welfare. To shut down commercial horse racing in Australia, the Greens have a clear Horse Racing Transition Plan". X (formerly Twitter) (in Finnish). Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  19. ^ "Let's do this! Let's shut down cruel gambling fuelled horse racing and greyhound racing and repurpose racetracks for green spaces and community facilities". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  20. ^ "Greens slammed over 'ridiculous' policy that would ban horse racing in Australia". 3AW. 20 December 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  21. ^ Ransley, Ellen (20 December 2023). "'Ridiculous' plan to ban horse racing: Nick Williams hits back at Greens". News.com.au.
  22. ^ Waters, Brad (16 January 2023). "Pro-racing group Kick Up For Racing to take the battle to anti-racing forces". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  23. ^ "Melbourne Cup: Trainer hits back at politician for 'embarrassing' attack on the racing industry". News.com.au. 6 November 2019. Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
  24. ^ @adambandt (10 June 2022). "I thank my colleagues for their strong and continued support" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ^ Massola, James (2 May 2023). "The Greens MPs who would lose out from the party's property tax changes". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  26. ^ "'Unhinged and insensitive': Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi slammed over 'appalling' tweet claiming Queen led 'racist empire'". Sky News Australia. 9 September 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  27. ^ "Mehreen Faruqi's racism complaint over Pauline Hanson tweet accepted by Human Rights Commission". the Guardian. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  28. ^ Butler, Josh (6 October 2022). "Mehreen Faruqi's racism complaint over Pauline Hanson tweet accepted by Human Rights Commission". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  29. ^ Haydar, Nour (3 May 2023). "Mehreen Faruqi launches court action against Pauline Hanson for 'insulting and humiliating' tweet". ABC News. Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  30. ^ McKinnell, Jamie; Gregory, Xanthe (1 November 2024). "Federal Court finds Pauline Hanson racially discriminated against Mehreen Faruqi in 'angry personal attack' tweet". ABC News. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  31. ^ "One colonial government supporting another. What a disgrace. FreePalestine". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  32. ^ "Television interview - Sky News Afternoon Agenda | Prime Minister of Australia". www.pm.gov.au. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  33. ^ Narunsky, Gareth. "A new low even for the Greens". Australian Jewish News. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  34. ^ "Steele-John". News.com.au. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  35. ^ Khaliq, Riyaz ul (6 November 2023). "'Heartless' Australian gov't faces tough questions over Palestine". AA. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  36. ^ Karp, Paul (6 November 2023). "Greens stage Senate walkout over Labor's Israel-Hamas war response". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  37. ^ "Greens stage Senate walkout in protest for Palestinians, call on government to support Israel-Gaza ceasefire". ABC News. 6 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  38. ^ Karp, Paul (6 November 2023). "Greens stage Senate walkout over Labor's Israel-Hamas war response". Guardian. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  39. ^ "Steele-John". News.com.au. 26 October 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  40. ^ "Awards honour women in engineering". Archived from the original on 23 May 2015.
  41. ^ "20th Edna Ryan Awards" (PDF). Legislative Council, NSW Parliament. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  42. ^ "President confers Pakistan civil awards on 253 personalities". Dunya News. 14 August 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
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