Anthony Albanese faces backlash for saying Kristina Keneally is a migrant success story and example of diversity

Anthony Albanese has been met with backlash for comments about cultural diversity in Labor following the dumping of a candidate.

Anthony Albanese has faced backlash for saying that the Labor Party had done “an enormous amount for diversity” before commending American-born senator Kristina Keneally as a migrant “success story”.

Speaking off the back of Senator Keneally being parachuted into the diverse seat of Fowler for preselection ahead of the federal election in favour of Vietnamese-Australian lawyer Tu Le, Mr Albanese said he was “very proud” of the party’s multicultural commitment.

Mr Albanese, with Italian heritage, said across state and national parliaments, including at senior levels, there was diverse representation.

“The Leader of the House of Representatives is someone called Albanese and the Leader in the Senate is someone called Wong,” he said outside a Sydney community centre.

“The Labor Party has done an enormous amount for diversity and, by the way, our Deputy Leader in the Senate, Kristina Keneally, was born in the United States, came to Australia and is another great Australian success story of a migrant who came here and became the NSW Premier.”

Deputy Labor Leader Kristina Keneally will be parachuted into western Sydney ahead of the federal election. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

Tu Le was elbowed out of preselection for Fowler in favour of Senator Kristina Keneally. Picture: Ryan Osland

However, Diversity Council of Australia CEO Lisa Annese said comparing the stories of Ms Le and Senator Keneally needed to have a line drawn in the sand.

“What we know in Australia is when we’re talking about cultural diversity, what we actually mean is diverse from Anglo-Celtic identity,” she said.

“So, I don’t think they’re the same type of comparison. The Anglo-Celtic identity, even if it is American, is the dominant identity in Australia, and that is different to people with the minority, non-Anglo-Celtic identity.”

𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕟𝕚𝕔 𝕕𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕚𝕤 𝕞𝕪 𝕡𝕒𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟. pic.twitter.com/SIuuVXwXdO

— David Ramli (@Davidramli) September 14, 2021

Ms Le told the ABC’s Radio National on Tuesday she had found out about the “sour debacle” of the party’s decision to push her aside in favour of Senator Keneally through the media.

It’s left her feeling disappointed for herself and her community, she told Radio National.

“ … That they (the community) feel like they don’t have a say in who gets to represent them and who is the person that speaks up for the struggles that they face and we face every day,” she said.

“ … I think that the issue is beyond me, and I think it’s much more than just the sour debacle that we have now.

“ … It all happened very quickly … I actually found out (about it) from the media. I hadn’t been contacted by anyone about this.

“I had made my intentions pretty clear earlier this year to throw my hat in the ring to have a chance for preselection on the back of (outgoing MP) Chris Hayes retiring and throwing his support behind me.

“So, that was pretty disappointing.”

Deputy Labor Leader Kristina Keneally made the announcement she was moving from the Senate to contest the lower house seat of Fowler outside a local community centre. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

Ms Le said she felt the people of Fowler wanted to be represented by someone who had a similar lived experience to them, but she hoped the situation wouldn’t have an impact on Labor’s vote in the seat.

The seat, which takes in Liverpool, Cabramatta and Fairfield, is one of the most diverse in the nation and is held by Labor with a 14 per cent margin.

She told Radio National the Labor Party might need to prioritise better representation.

In 2018 a report from the Australian Human Rights Commission showed that only 4 per cent of federal MP’s had non-European ancestry.

Osmond Chiu, a research fellow at the Per Capita think tank, told NCA NewsWire that Australia did “comparably worse” to similar countries like the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada in terms of diverse representation in politics.

“People genuinely think Australia has made huge steps because they remember how life used to be,” Mr Chiu said.

“But I think for a younger cohort, those that migrated to Australia after the turn of the century, there’s a very different sense. They’re not looking to the past, they’re looking to Australia and comparable countries right now.

“ … I’m hoping that because of what happened there will be a recognition that diversity is an issue and that steps need to be taken to address it.”

Labor leader Anthony Albanese with Western Sydney lawyer Tu Le at a Fowler fundraiser in June. Ms Le was endorsed by outgoing Fowler MP Chris Hayes to run in the seat. Picture: Facebook

Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Albanese told Tu Le to “hang in there”, and that his party was committed to ensuring cultural representation.

But he said Senator Keneally would make an “outstanding contribution” to Fowler.

“The Labor Party has done an enormous amount for diversity … Labor is the party of multiculturalism,” Mr Albanese said.

“From time to time in terms of a competitive environment, in terms of politics, this occurs.

“But Tu Le, I think, will have an outstanding future … I certainly hope she hangs in there and that she will have a bright future.”

Originally published as Anthony Albanese faces backlash for saying Kristina Keneally is a migrant success story and example of diversity