Meet the new Miss Universe Australia Monika Radulovic
THE newest Miss Universe Australia winner is a Bosnian refugee and English is her second language. Hear about what she thinks of feminism, Tony Abbott and terrorism.
THE nation’s newest Miss Universe Australia winner has warned she has a mind of her own — and she is not afraid to speak it.
Boasting an honours degree in psychology from UWS and a desire to tackle major political issues, Monika Radulovic says she will not be sticking to the usual pageant queen script.
“I’m going to be myself,” said the 24-year-old, who won the crown at the weekend.
“If they want me and they can see me being Miss Universe Australia, that’s amazing, I’ll be myself and I’ll definitely give my honest opinion. If I’m going to be an ambassador for Australia, I have to be honest.”
Radulovic’s desire to speak out is all the more remarkable as English is her second language.
Her parents, Goran and Vinka, came to Australia as refugees from war-torn Bosnia in 1994 when she was four years old.
“None of us could speak a word of English so as soon as we got here, we really made an effort to assimilate to Australian culture,” she said.
The Radulovics settled in Hurstville, where a young Monika went to the local primary school, followed by Blakehurst High School.
Her mum was a lawyer in Bosnia but her qualifications weren’t recognised in Australia. She now manages a supermarket in Darlinghurst while her father is a lawyer.
Given all the opportunities Australia has afforded her, Radulovic said she was would be honoured to represent the country in the competition internationally later in the year.
“Australia really opened its arms up to us,” she said.
“We had nothing. My parents really instilled in me that education is key.”
And while Australia’s national outfit at Miss Universe is always controversial. Radulovic said whatever she was given to wear, she would wear it with price.
“I’m going to rock whatever they design,” she said.
MONIKA RADULOVIC ON ...
Feminism
I see myself as a feminist. Women should be considered equal in comparison to men. Let’s say equalist rather than feminist. Gender shouldn’t have a huge say in what we do. It should be more about the character of the person when it comes to a profession and I don’t think gender should have a bearing on that at all.
Religion
I was brought up Christian but I consider myself more spiritual. I do believe in a higher power but my number one thing is to try to be a good person as opposed to focusing on one particular religion.
Terrorism and IS
Obviously it is horrendous. Instead of scaring the nation, we need to come together as a society and focus on Australia and educating our community and just being prepared as opposed to scared.
Stripping foreign nationals of their passports when they fight for ISIS overseas
That's a very tough and complicated question. We need to focus on looking after our country and keeping everyone safe.
Refugees/Asylum Seekers
Us as Aussies with our nature, we need to give everybody a go. Our national anthem states that we’ve got boundless plains to share so I think we just need to push that. We have to remember the thing about refugees and asylum seekers is that they don’t come to other countries out of a choice but they are actually going through such hardship. We can’t actually comprehend how terrible their situations are for them to try to smuggle in to countries so we need to look at them with empathy and give them a go.
Plastic Surgery
It’s extremely individual. To change anything about your body obviously shows there is some form of insecurity of that part. Those insecurities are magnified with social media. Plastic surgery is forever so you really need to think long and hard about it. What's on the inside is most important. I am not opposed to plastic surgery but at the same time I think you really need to do it for the right reasons. You have to be comfortable with yourself on the inside first.
Gay Marriage
Australia should definitely legalise gay marriage. At the end of the day, by saying yes we are saying yes to bringing our community together to more acceptance. And also, weddings are a huge money maker so we are actually boosting our economy by providing so many new jobs for more weddings.
If you met PM Tony Abbott, what would you discuss?
Education is our number one thing we always need to keep focusing on. We need to give teachers more money, they work so hard and our children are our future and they need the best education possible.
Originally published as Meet the new Miss Universe Australia Monika Radulovic