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Carina Garland
Australian politician From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Carina Mary Lindsay Garland (born 1982) is an Australian politician. She has served as a Labor MP for Chisholm since the 2022 Australian federal election.
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Early life and education
Garland was born in Traralgon, Victoria.[1] Her father was a general practitioner and ran a practice in Melbourne's south-east with her mother, a nurse.[2] Her maternal grandparents immigrated to Australia from Italy in the 1950s.[3] Her grandfather was a maths teacher at Emmaus College in Burwood.[4]
Garland grew up in Clayton.[5][6] As a child, she performed ballet concerts at the Alexander Theatre in Clayton.[7] She attended Sacré Cœur School in Glen Iris, where she was a School Prefect.[1] She later enrolled in an Arts/Law degree at Monash University, being awarded first class honours in English Literature. She received a scholarship to complete a PhD in the humanities at the University of Sydney.[8]
In her early life she experienced insecure work,[9] which she has described as "the dominant form of employment" that she has experienced.[7] She said that this experience influenced her advocacy for secure, local jobs and her belief "that people should have jobs they can count on".[9]
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Career
Garland worked as an academic at the University of Sydney.[10][when?] After completing her PhD in the humanities, Garland worked as a parliamentary staffer for Simon Crean.[11] "Simon was the first person I voted for in any election and my first boss in politics," she said in 2023.[11] She described him as a "generous boss" who gave her support and advice during her election campaign in 2022.[11]
From 2016 to 2018, Garland was Senior Vice-President of the Australian Labor Party (Vic).[10]
Garland served as the Assistant Secretary for the Victorian Trades Hall Council from 2018 - 2021.[1] Her responsibilities included the Young Workers Centre and the Migrant Workers Centre. In 2019 she was a witness in the Victorian Government's Legislative Assembly Economy and Infrastructure Committee Inquiry into sustainable employment for disadvantaged jobseekers, where she advocated for marginalised and migrant workers.[12]
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Political career
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Perspective
Garland was preselected to stand in Chisholm for Labor at the 2022 federal election in July 2021, and won the seat with an 8.1-point swing in her direction, defeating Liberal incumbent Gladys Liu.[8][13] During the 2022 election campaign, Garland and her supporters knocked on 60,000 doors in Chisholm, phoned 72,000 people and had more than 25,000 conversations with voters in the electorate.[14] Garland was endorsed by Kevin Rudd.[15] Anthony Albanese described her as "a local champion who understands Chisholm and its needs".[16]
In the Labor caucus, Garland is a member of the Labor Left faction.[17]
Former Chisholm MP, Anna Burke, is a friend and mentor to Garland, and Garland has said that Burke showed her "what it means to be a really hard-working, active local member of parliament."[14]
In Parliament, Garland advocates for education, healthcare, climate change, workers rights, small business, local manufacturing, the arts and multiculturalism.[4] In April 2023 she signed a letter calling for a substantial increase to JobSeeker.[18] In May 2024 she spoke out about the Federal Government's Future Of Gas Strategy,[19] stating that she believes "the future is renewables" and that she will "always fight for strong, real climate action".[20]
Garland is an advocate for life long learning and building a thriving higher education system in Australia.[21] In September 2023 she made a submission the Australian Universities Accord Interim Report on behalf of the Chisholm electorate.[22] Her submission was based on a survey of the electorate. In her submission, she advocated for financial support for unpaid work placements, improving safety on campus, and reforming the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) (formerly HECS).[22] On 21 March 2024, Minister for Education the Hon. Jason Clare MP acknowledged Garland's work to raise the issue of HELP debt reform during Question Time.[23]
Garland has publicly supported the importance of early childhood education and care.[24] In February 2024 Garland made a submission to the Productivity Commission's review into early childhood education and care.[25] Her submission was based on a survey of her electorate and a public webinar held with Minister for Early Childhood Education and Care Anne Aly MP.[26] In her submission, she advocated for "wages for early childhood educators (that) reflect the importance of their work"[26] and more affordable child care for families.[26]
Garland is an advocate for action to address gendered violence,[27] and has spoken out about the issue of safety on campus.[28] She has said that she has "witnessed first-hand the devastation that sexual violence on campus has wrought on people's lives",[28] and that she does not want "any other generations of women to have to go through that."[28] On 28 February 2024, Minister for Education the Hon. Jason Clare MP thanked Garland during Question Time for her work advocating for action to address gendered violence on campus.[29]
Garland supports access to affordable, accessible healthcare for all Australians.[30] She has delivered a bulk billing Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Mount Waverley.[31] Garland is also an advocate for mental health support, delivering a headspace centre for Box Hill[32][33] and securing funding for the headspace centre in Syndal.[32][34]
Garland's electorate office is in Mount Waverley.[35]
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Personal life
Garland lives in Clayton.[5] She is a member of the United Workers Union, the Australian Services Union, and the Community and Public Sector Union.[36]
Garland is a descendant of Mary and Edith Garland, who were suffragists in Victoria[37] who signed the 1891 petition to grant Victorian women the right to vote.[4]
Garland has Italian heritage,[38] and her family credits the Federal Labor Government for transforming their lives.[5]
She is a member of the Collingwood Football Club.[36]
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References
External links
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