On May 18 2019, the Greens are ready to take a stand for community members in the upcoming Federal Election.
The Greens will work with this community to understand what they want from their representatives. We have a strong vision for the future and will work with everyone to make that happen! To read more about our core platforms in this election, follow this link to read all about what we stand for.
Qiu Yue (Viki) Zhang is the Greens candidate for Bennelong. Please follow Qiu Yue (Viki)’s Facebook page or Instagram profile for updates!
Qiu Yue (Viki) Zhang, Greens Candidate for Bennelong
“Hi, I am Viki and I’m proud to run as your candidate for Bennelong.
My Chinese name is ‘Autumn Moon‘. I was born in Northeast China and, when I was little, my hometown used to snow a lot in winter time. Then the economy grew quickly and everything changed. Its air, water and soil became polluted and nowadays, winter no longer snows.
I came to Sydney as a teenager, went to school and then studied advanced science at UNSW. Subsequently, I completed a masters of technology management from AGSM and then worked within medical research on childhood cancer in Sydney children’s hospital. I have also worked in the financial services industry in recent years, and in 2018 I completed a second masters by research in economics on fossil fuels at Macquarie University.
I am running for Bennelong because of the global warming crisis we are facing right now. The last five years were the hottest five years our planet has ever seen. In Australia, we’ve had the hottest summer, the hottest year and now the hottest March in history. All around the planet we’ve seen the increase in both the number and the severity of extreme weather events. Through last year, we’ve had extreme weather events happening all over Australia simultaneously.
The world’s leading scientists warned us that we have less than 11 years to dramatically cut carbon emissions, or the planet as we know it today will be uninhabitable by the end of this century. Australia is the world’s biggest exporter of coal, which is our country’s biggest contribution to global warming. Australia is also the sunniest continent on earth, and is at the forefront of technological innovation with everything we need to turn this mess around. The only missing piece is political will.
I am super proud of our Greens plan to quickly and justly transition our economy to clean energy while leaving no one behind. By establishing publicly owned essential services, a federal anti-corruption commission, a future of work commission and Renew Australia, we can bring our country back on track to fight global warming and create a bright future for all of us.”
Together, we can turn Bennelong Green!
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Dr. Mehreen Faruqi, Greens’ Senator for NSW.
Mehreen is a civil and environmental engineer and life-long activist for social and environmental justice. In 2013, she joined NSW State Parliament, becoming the first Muslim woman to sit in an Australian parliament. In 2018, Mehreen became Australia’s first Muslim senator. She has been a passionate advocate against racism and misogyny.
Since emigrating from Pakistan in 1992 and completing her doctorate at the University of New South Wales, Mehreen has worked in leadership positions for local government, consulting firms and as an academic in Australia and internationally. This includes her roles as Manager of Environment and Services for Mosman Council, Manager of Natural Resources and Catchments for Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies (UNSW) and an Associate Professor in Business and Sustainability (AGSM, UNSW).
Mehreen has delivered major projects including stormwater reuse and recycling infrastructure, integrated water cycle management, hydropower generation, cycleways and rainforest rehabilitation, as well as working for action on climate change and waste reduction. She has chaired a number of panels and committees on sustainability, water and waste management for industry, local, state and federal government.
She has been named one of the 100 most influential engineers in Australia and received the UNSW Faculty of Engineering Award for Leadership, and remains a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia and a member of the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand. Throughout her career, Mehreen’s work has focused on developing solutions to social and environmental challenges.
Mehreen has been involved in feminist and anti-racist activism throughout her life. She introduced the first ever bill to decriminalise abortion in New South Wales and won the closure of pregnancy discrimination loopholes. Mehreen’s work for reproductive rights was recognised with the feminist Edna Ryan Grand Stirrer award in 2017 “for inciting others to challenge the status quo”. Her “Love Letters to Mehreen” series has highlighted the online harassment, bullying and toxicity experienced by women of colour in public life.
While in NSW parliament, she also forced the Liberal-National government to disclose evidence of mass outsourcing of public sector work, won a container deposit scheme and driver’s license suspension reform. Mehreen has been a leading voice in opposition to the greyhound racing industry, privatisation of public transport, and removal of laws that protect native vegetation.
Since joining the federal senate in August 2018, Mehreen has been an outspoken advocate for public education, social housing and animal welfare. She continued her work calling out discrimination in her first speech, condemning the “legitimisation, normalisation and encouragement” of hate in politics and the media. She is the Australian Greens’ spokesperson for education and lifelong learning, housing, animal welfare, local government, gun control and industry.
Learn more about our 2019 election platform.
If you would like to donate to the campaign, every little bit helps. We don’t accept donations from companies in the big end of town, so we rely on you, the community, to support our campaigns. Please visit our donations page.