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Kaushaliya Virjibhai Vaghela is a former Australian politician. She was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council from 2018 to 2022, representing the Western Metropolitan Region. She is the first Indian-born member of the Victorian Parliament since colonial times, and is a Hindu. Before her preselection in 2018, she briefly worked as a part-time adviser to then-State Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Robin Scott.

Resignation from the ALP

On 9 February 2022, Vaghela crossed the floor in support of Adem Somyurek's motion to refer the Andrews government to the Victorian Ombudsman in relation to the alleged misuse of taxpayer funds, involving the diversion of parliamentary staffing resources to political campaigning and party factional activities prior to the 2014 Victorian state election.

In March 2022, Vaghela resigned from Labor, making serious allegations of bullying against the party. Her criticisms were aired after she had been left off the Labor ticket for the 2022 state election, following an investigation by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) into the conduct of her husband, Dinesh Chauhan, and staff members.

New Democrats party

In August 2022, Vaghela announced that she had formed the New Democrats party, with her as its secretary. After the party gained registration with the Victorian Electoral Commission in October 2022, she claimed that almost 2,000 people had joined in response to her appeal for support.

Vaghela was defeated at the 2022 state election, polling 0.5%. The New Democrats polled 0.2% across Victoria.

See also

• Gaurav Sharma (similar case in New Zealand)

References

1. ^ "Parliament of Victoria – Kaushaliya Vaghela Inaugural Speech". hansard.parliament.vic.gov.au. Parliament of Victoria. 19 December 2018.
2. Bucci, Nino (1 November 2021). "Victorian MP's husband paid taxpayer-funded salary for factional work, Ibac hears". Guardian Australia.
3. Wyeth, Grant (24 March 2021). "Under-representation of Asian Australians". electionwatch.unimelb.edu.au. Asia Institute, University of Melbourne.
4. "Victoria Votes - Western Metropolitan Region". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
5. "'I'm a fanatic for freedom, fairness, feminism', says Kaushaliya Vaghela". The Indian Sun. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
6. Ilanbey, Sumeyya (9 February 2022). "Labor MP crosses floor to back fresh investigation into red shirts scandal". The Age. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
7. "Victorian MP Kaushaliya Vaghela quits Labor after alleging systemic bullying". ABC News. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
8. "Indian-origin Victorian State MP Kaushaliya Vaghela announces new political party". NRI Affairs. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
9. "Legislative Council Results - VIC Election 2022". abcnews.net.au. ABC News. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.

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