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

Michelle Renuka Ananda-Rajah (Tamil: மிசேல் ஆனந்தராஜா; 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

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

Ananda-Rajah worked as a clinician-researcher and physician in infectious diseases and general medicine at Alfred Health. 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.

Michelle is the co-founder of Healthcare Workers Australia, a grass roots advocacy group which has campaigned since August 2020 for improved respiratory protection.[6]

Politics

Ananda-Rajah was preselected as the Labor candidate for Higgins in July 2021, ahead of the 2022 Australian federal election.[7] 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.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b "QUALIFICATION CHECKLIST" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Labor on track to win marginal seats of Chisholm and Higgins from Liberal Party". ABC News. 21 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".
  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. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah".
  7. ^ "Labor preselects outspoken AstraZeneca critic to run as candidate in Higgins".
  8. ^ "Higgins (Key Seat) - Federal Electorate, Candidates, Results". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
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