Tania Mihailuk (born 5 May 1976) is an Australian politician, currently serving as member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 2023.[3] She served as mayor of the City of Bankstown from 2006 to 2011.[4]
Mihailuk was the first woman to represent Bankstown in the electoral district's history, serving in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2023. She initially served as a member of the Labor Party before resigning from the party in 2022. She joined One Nation in January 2023[3] and ran for the Legislative Council on the party's ticket at the March election, at which she was unsuccessful.[5][6] Mihailuk was appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council on 10 May 2023, filling a casual vacancy created by the resignation of Mark Latham, shortly before the 2023 New South Wales state election.[7]
Background and education
Mihailuk attended Macquarie University and graduated with a degree in economics and later a degree in law. She has worked in various industries, including marketing and public policy.[8]
Political career
Mihailuk was elected to Bankstown Council in 2004 and became mayor in 2006. She was endorsed as the Labor candidate for Bankstown in November 2010 after sitting member Tony Stewart announced his resignation.[9] She stated she would resign from council if she won, which she did, having suffered a swing against her of more than 15 points, as part of the Coalition's landslide election win.[10]
On 20 September 2022, Mihailuk used parliamentary privilege to link Canterbury-Bankstown Council mayor, Khal Asfour, to corrupt former Labor Minister Eddie Obeid, which was a stark contrast with her prominent thanks of Asfour in her maiden parliamentary speech for being her campaign director.[11] On 23 September, Labor Opposition Leader, Chris Minns, demoted Mihailuk from the Shadow Cabinet.[12][13] On 20 October 2022, Mihailuk resigned from the NSW Labor Party, claiming that the party was "plagued by corruption"[14] and that it was "too woke".[15]
On 17 January 2023, Mihailuk announced that she would be running second on the One Nation ticket at the upcoming 2023 New South Wales state election for the Legislative Council, behind party leader Mark Latham.[5] Before that, in 2017 when she was a Labor MP she criticised One Nation and Mark Latham.[15] Mihailuk officially resigned from the New South Wales Legislative Assembly on 1 March 2023.[6]
Mihailuk announced her resignation from One Nation on 20 December 2024.[16]
Personal life
Mihailuk resides in Chester Hill with her husband, Alex, and has three children.[citation needed]
References
- ^ The SPEAKER (5 May 2021). "Member for Bankstown". Legislative Assembly Hansard. Parliament of New South Wales: Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ "Legislative Council Group Q: ONE NATION". NSW Electoral Commission. Candidates. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ a b "The Hon. Tania MIHAILUK, BEc, LLB, LLM MLC". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
- ^ "New Mayor for Bankstown City Council". Local Government Career. 30 June 2011. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 25 January 2025.
- ^ a b Rabe, Tom; Cormack, Lucy (17 January 2023). "Former Labor MP switches to One Nation weeks before NSW election". The Age. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
- ^ a b Mihailuk, Tani [@taniamihailukmp] (1 March 2023). "Resigned as a Member of the Legislative Assembly today - it has been a privilege and an honour to have been the Member for Bankstown. I will shortly be nominating for the Legislative Council for NSW One Nation. Stay tuned…". Retrieved 10 March 2023 – via Instagram.
- ^ "Minutes of the Proceedings of the Joint Sitting of the Houses of Parliament of the State of New South Wales Held on Wednesday 10 May 2023 to Choose Persons to Fill the Vacancies in the Legislative Council Caused by the Resignations of the Honourable Mark Latham and the Honourable Natasha Maclaren-Jones" (PDF). www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. New South Wales Parliament. 10 May 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
- ^ "Tania Mihailuk". Australian Labor Party (NSW Branch). Archived from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
- ^ Vella, Joanne (30 November 2010). "Tania Mihailuk wins preselection for Bankstown". Canterbury-Bankstown Express. News Limited. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
- ^ Green, Antony (5 April 2011). "Bankstown – NSW Votes 2011". ABC News. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
- ^ Tania Mihailuk (25 May 2011). "Inaugural Speeches". Legislative Assembly Hansard. State of New South Wales through the Parliament of New South Wales: Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
I am eager to place on record my enormous gratitude to the many people who assisted and supported me in the election, many of whom are here today. First among them I thank my campaign director, Khal Asfour, for his unstinting support and loyalty. Khal worked with a fantastic campaign team— ... the Asfour family and all the team that came out in force on election day.
- ^ Gramenz, Jack (23 September 2022). "NSW Labor boots MP from shadow cabinet". The Canberra Times. Australian Community Media. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
- ^ McGowan, Michael (23 September 2022). "Chris Minns defends swift sacking of Tania Mihailuk after corruption allegations". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- ^ Cockburn, Paige (20 October 2022). "NSW Labor MP Tania Mihailuk resigns from party, says Labor not ready to govern". ABC News. Australia: Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
- ^ a b McGowan, Michael (17 January 2023). "Former NSW Labor MP joins One Nation despite previously labelling Mark Latham a 'buffoon'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025.
- ^ Schmidt, Nathan (26 December 2024). "Major blow to Pauline Hanson after state's last One Nation member quits over funding". NewsWire. Archived from the original on 21 December 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2025 – via news.com.au.
