Federal Election 2022: 16 new faces to watch in parliament
There are a lot of fresh faces entering Australia’s 47th parliament after the Coalition was defeated by Labor, the Greens and teal independents in many seats. See the list.
Federal Election
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Australia’s 47th parliament will be one unlike any other with a record number of crossbenchers prompted by the “teal wave” and the “green slide” in seats across the country.
Labor has also picked up a swag of seats from the Coalition although its path to a majority government remained unclear early on Sunday afternoon.
News Corp election analysis put Labor on track to secure 77 seats — just above the threshold for a clear majority.
Regardless of the final tally, there will be a lot of fresh faces in Canberra when parliament resumes next month. Here are 16 of the ones to watch.
SAM LIM
A huge swing to Labor in Western Australia boosted by Premier Mark McGowan’s personal popularity saw the party pick up four seats from the Coalition.
Sam Lim has become quite possibly the only former dolphin trainer to become an Australian MP, after he ousted Liberal MP and Scott Morrison ally Ben Morton in the once safe Liberal seat of Tangney.
Mr Lim is a West Australian police officer and polyglot who grew up in Malaysia as the youngest of eight children.
After moving to Western Australia with his wife and children in 2002, he joined the WA Police Academy in 2006 and has since worked across Perth and regional WA.
KATE CHANEY
Kate Chaney made history on Saturday night when she turned Perth’s blue ribbon seat of Curtin teal, taking it out of Liberal hands for the first time.
Ms Chaney was one of five independents supported by businessman Simon Holmes a Court’s Climate 200 fundraising vehicle who managed a Liberal rout in affluent inner city seats across the country.
Ms Chaney is a Curtin local who has close ties to WA’s business and political figureheads.
Her father is a Wesfarmers chairman, her grandfather Fred was a minister in the Menzies government and her uncle Fred was the federal Liberal Party’s deputy leader from 1989 to 1990.
ZANETA MASCARENHAS
Zaneta Mascarenhas defeated her Liberal opponent Kristy McSweeney to claim Swan for the Labor Party, becoming the first woman to hold the seat in its 101 year history.
A former FIFO engineer, Ms Mascarenhas was born in Kalgoorlie and grew up in Kambalda, a nickel mining town where she says her father was a fitter and her mother “a kindy cleaner”.
She moved from the outback to Perth to study science and engineering at Curtin University and has worked as an engineer for 15 years since.
Following her win, she said she was looking forward to joining a government that would establish a federal ICAC and take real action on climate change.
TRACEY ROBERTS
City of Wanneroo Mayor Tracey Roberts easily toppled her Liberal opponent to secure former attorney-general Christian Porter’s vacated seat of Pearce.
Ms Roberts, who was local councillor for almost 20 years, romped home on Saturday night with a 15 per cent swing towards Labor.
Speaking to the media on Saturday night, Ms Roberts said she was “incredibly proud” to have won the seat after 31 years of it being in Liberal hands.
“I fought breast cancer and this community picked me up, dried my tears and supported me on that journey and I will never forget that,” she said.
ELIZABETH WATSON-BROWN
Greens leader Adam Bandt has called his party’s success a “green slide” and that certainly proved true in Queensland after their shock upset in three inner city seats.
Architect and adjunct university professor Elizabeth Watson-Brown made history by defeating Liberal MP Julian Simmonds in Ryan.
The electorate, which takes in a patch of Brisbane’s leafy western suburbs, was a safe Liberal seat.
Ms Watson-Brown told an elated crowd of party faithful in Brisbane that “we are now on planet Greensland and we are taking it forward”.
MAX CHANDLER-MATHER
Max Chandler-Mather pulled off another surprise upset by outseating Labor MP Terri Butler in former prime minister Kevin Rudd’s old electorate of Griffith.
A Greens party strategist who threw his hat in the ring to become an MP, Mr Chandler-Mather said the party’s success in Brisbane was a “beacon of hope” for Australians.
“You do not have to settle for the political status quo,” he said.
“This is a campaign recognising that people are fed up with politics.”
Mr Chandler-Mather also campaigned hard on local issues including concerns over aircraft noise from Brisbane’s new flight paths.
STEPHEN BATES
The Greens could pick up a third electorate in the Queensland capital, which would bring their total number of lower house seats to four including Mr Bandt’s stronghold in Melbourne.
Stephen Bates, who joined the Greens on the night of the 2019 election, was the favourite to beat Liberal Trevor Evans in the seat of Brisbane.
Labor was still in contention for the seat as of Sunday afternoon.
Mr Bates like other Greens MPs would focus on reducing inequity, tackling climate change and expanding Medicare.
ALLEGRA SPENDER
Some of the most fascinating — and, at times, ugly — contests of the campaign were those fought between the “teal” independents and sitting Liberal MPs.
Allegra Spender was one of the most high-profile teals to run and on Saturday night she beat Dave Sharma in the eastern Sydney electorate of Wentworth.
Ms Spender is a businesswoman and the daughter of former Liberal politician John Spender, QC and the late fashion designer Carla Zampatti.
Despite her blue ribbon pedigree, Ms Spender ran as an independent who focused on climate change and integrity.
She said on Sunday her victory proved that “you can‘t ignore women anymore”.
KYLEA TINK
Independent Kylea Tink defeated moderate Liberal MP Trent Zimmerman to claim the electorate of North Sydney.
Like other teals, Ms Tink has said her priorities in Canberra will be to deliver fast action on climate change, to address inequality and to push for the creation of a federal integrity commission.
Ms Tink describes herself as a “successful businesswoman, CEO and board member, who has lived in the electorate for more than 15 years”.
SOPHIE SCAMPS
In another surprise upset, teal independent Sophie Scamps beat Jason Falinski in the electorate of Mackellar.
Dr Scamps is a Northern Beaches local of 22 years who worked as a general practitioner until November last year, when she decided to run for parliament as the independent candidate for Mackellar.
Dr Scamps said on Sunday she had spoken to former lifetime Liberal voters who told her they just wanted to feel “genuinely represented” again in politics.
GORDON REID
Gordon Reid won the traditionally bellwether seat of Robertson for Labor on Saturday, defeating incumbent Liberal Lucy Wicks after three terms as the MP.
The emergency department doctor and Central Coast local successfully campaigned on local issues, calling for improvements to healthcare in the region and promising to protect small businesses and the environment.
SALLY SITOU
Labor’s Sally Sitou is set to become the member for Reid after defeating Liberal MP Fiona Martin.
The western Sydney local is of Chinese heritage and moved to Australia after her parents fled Laos during the Vietnam War.
“This moment is surreal in the best way possible, that one could dare to dream, a dream this big,” she said following her victory.
Ms Sitou has said improving diversity in politics will strengthen Australia’s parliament and democracy.
“Young women from different backgrounds came up to me and said that me standing as the candidate meant something to them – and that’s something that I’ll take away with me forever,” she said.
DAI LE
Independent Dai Le was expected to foil Labor frontbencher Kristina Keneally’s attempt to move into the lower house in what would be one of the election’s biggest upsets.
Ms Le, a former Liberal Party member and longtime Fairfield City councillor, decided to run as an independent in Fowler.
Ms Le promised to stand up for her community, saying the decision to parachute Senator Keneally into the once safe Labor seat had angered voters.
MONIQUE RYAN
The at-times bitter fight between Monique Ryan and Josh Frydenberg for Kooyong was expected to come down to the wire.
But the paediatric neurologist turned first-time political aspirant managed to secure an impressive swing towards her of more than 40 per cent and outseat the federal Treasurer in the former Liberal heartland seat.
Dr Ryan quoted the Hunters and Collectors song Holy Grail as she reflected on her victory.
“Woke up this morning from the strangest dream. I was in the biggest (teal) army that the world has ever seen. We were marching for … so many things. And now it begins,” she said on Sunday.
Dr Ryan said she thought the rise of the independents would become permanent in elections.
“I think that this is going to be a permanent sort of a change, not just a protest against one thing, it’s a statement of position and what the electorate of Kooyong wants from its elected representative from now on.”
ZOE DANIEL
Former ABC foreign correspondent Zoe Daniel is another high-profile teal independent who, like Dr Ryan, won convincingly in a formerly blue ribbon Liberal seat.
Ms Daniel campaigned hard on climate change, integrity and equality while promising to represent people of Goldstein in Canberra.
“This moment is a testament to the strength of our democracy,” she said as she claimed victory on Saturday night.
“I think we have some tests ahead and there’s a lot of stuff to fix. But what this says is that community can make a difference.”
MICHELLE ANANDA-RAJAH
Labor’s Michelle Ananda-Rajah snatched the prized Melbourne electorate of Higgins from first-term Liberal MP Katie Allen.
The seat became a three-way contest between the Liberals, the Greens and Labor for the first time in 2019 after Liberal MP Kelly O’Dwyer retired.
Eyeing off the seat after making inroads at the 2019 election, Labor put forward Dr Ananda-Rajah, a physician who has worked for more than a decade at a major Melbourne hospital.
At times an outspoken critic of the Morrison government’s handling of hospital funding and the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Ananda-Rajah attracted controversy for some of her comments including about the AstraZeneca vaccine.
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Originally published as Federal Election 2022: 16 new faces to watch in parliament
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