First Indian Liberal to contest ACT elections

The next year or so promises co be an extremely interesting period on the Australian political front. Given the scale of t h e fight ahead and the events that have transpired in Canberra in the last few rnond1s, when d1e election is called, i t will definitely be a hugel y a n ticipated one. It's easy co get caught u p in the hype over the possibility of a new leader for ilie country - bur it's impo r tant not to overlook the fact iliac it wiU begin with a series of smaUer, al bei t no Jess incense, banles on the local srnge.

The Canberra Liberals recently finalised candidates for tbe terrirory's October 2012 election, for which there wil l be 17 seats up for grabs. The party will be creating some of its own hj story whe n its first candidates of Korean and Indian origin will be amongst the names on ilie baUor sheet in Ocrober. Jacob Vadakkedathu'.s will be one of chose names, and for hi m , it is ye t anod1er feather in d1e cap following an already distinguished hjstory of community service

Indians are the fourth most prominenr mj granc nationality in Australia, behind only the UK, neighbours ew Zealand and China. ln 2008 -09, Australia 's Indian- born population recorded the fastest growth of any group in ilie cotmrry, increas ing by a phenomenal 1 7%. In me most recent census, over 340,000 Australian residems identified as L1dian- born, and for the secondmost re presented non-A n glo community in the co un try, it is welcome news that the Liberal Party of Australia is ,velconung i cs first Indian candidate, after almost 70 years since i t was founded

G iven Australia's repmation for being a multicul tural soc iety, and a correct one at mat, the under-represenrntion of MPs from a diverse range of culmres is somewh at surprising. In d1e 2006 Census, 24% of residents were reported as being born outside of Australia - ye c Penn y \Xiong, Australia's currem Minister for Finance and Deregulation, became ilie first Asian- born Federal l'vLinister as recently as 2007.

All changes begin with a sing le seep, d1ough, and it is a commendab le achieveme n t for the fad1er of rwo. J acob was born in KoUam, Kerala, and came co Canberra i n 1 998, completing his M:ascers at the University of Canberra, all tbe while remaining involved actively in ilie community He is currently the President of t he Fed eration of Indian Assoc iations of tl1e ACT (FINAC1), d1e LUnbrella