Australia is a multicultural country, but critics say those representing the country don't reflect this.
Some of Australia's MPs, pictured here, fail to reflect the country's diversity, critics say
Tu Le grew up the child of Vietnamese refugees in Fowler, a south-west Sydney electorate far from the city's beaches, and one of the poorest urban areas in the country.Last year, she was pre-selected by the Labor Party to run in the nation's most multicultural seat. But then party bosses side-lined her for a white woman.
"If this scenario had played out in Britain or the United States, it would not be acceptable," says Dr Tim Soutphomassane, director of the Sydney Policy Lab and Australia's former Race Discrimination Commissioner. But the parliament looks almost as white as it did in the days of the "White Australia" policy - when from 1901 to the 1970s, the nation banned non-white immigrants.
"The British Conservative Party is currently light years ahead of either of the major Australian political parties when it comes to race and representation," says Dr Soutphomassane.Observers say Australia's political system is more closed-door than other democracies. Nearly all candidates chosen by the major parties tend to be members who've risen through the ranks. Often they've worked as staffers to existing MPs.
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