Karina Okotel is a former federal vice president of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
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This is a li ...
. She was an unsuccessful
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
candidate for
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
in the
2016 Australian federal election
The 2016 Australian federal election was a double dissolution election held on Saturday 2 July to elect all 226 members of the 45th Parliament of Australia, 45th Parliament of Australia, after an extended eight-week official campaign period. It ...
. She was one of the leaders of the unsuccessful "No" campaign in the
Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey
The Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey was a national survey designed to gauge support for legalising same-sex marriage in Australia. The survey was held via the postal service between 12 September and 7 November 2017. Unlike voting in e ...
.
Early life and education
Karina Okotel was born in 1980. She is of
Sri Lankan descent and a daughter of
Sri Lankan immigrants who worked menial jobs before becoming owners of a liquor store. She studied arts/law at
Melbourne University
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
and then worked at an orphanage on the Thai/Myanmar border. She completed her articles as a solicitor and then travelled to Uganda with Baptist World Aid. Her other roles included working for the Tenants' Union, the Mental Health Legal Centre and the Barwon Community Legal Centre.
Career and political activities
Okotel joined the Liberal Party in 2010 after the party's success at the Victorian state election. In 2012, she was elected as councillor for the Rosstown ward of the
Glen Eira City Council, and later became deputy mayor. During 2016, she resigned from the Glen Eira Council to
run for the Australian Senate. She was in the sixth place on the Liberal Party ticket and was unsuccessful. She was elected as federal Liberal Party vice-president in June 2017.
Since 2015, Okotel has been a leading opponent of
legalising gay marriage in Australia. In September 2017, she decided to come out of maternity leave to support the
Coalition for Marriage
The Coalition for Marriage, often abbreviated to C4M, is a Christian campaign group in the United Kingdom that opposes same-sex marriage. Founded in February 2012, the Coalition for Marriage is the main campaign group against same-sex marriage ...
. She wrote an opinion piece for ''
The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' describing her fears for the freedom of speech, religion and association if same-sex marriage was legalised. O n 12 September, she debated
Christine Forster
Christine Forster is a former Australian local government politician who was a Liberal councillor in the City of Sydney (2012–2021) and the younger sister of former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Forster attended the University of S ...
on
ABC Radio National
Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2.
History
1937: Predecessors an ...
. On 13 September, she spoke at the
National Press Club
Organizations
A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...
, alongside
Lyle Shelton
Lyle Thomas Shelton (1934–2010) was an American aviator who set the world's absolute propeller-driven 3-kilometer speed record of 528.329 mph. He was born in Brownfield, Texas on June 15, 1933. A former US Naval Aviator, he was an airline ...
, for the campaign against same sex marriage. On 23 September, she was a panellist on the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
''
Q&A'' same-sex marriage debate.
She served as Commonwealth Liberal Vice President until she was replaced by Teena McQueen in October 2019.
In August 2020, she was suspended from an important party committee following concerns over a branch stacking scandal implicating close associate
Marcus Bastian and MP
Michael Sukkar
Michael Sven Sukkar (born 11 September 1981) is an Australian politician who served as the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Housing from 2019, and as the Minister for Homelessness, Social and Community Housing from 2020. He lost his minis ...
and concerns she breached party rules compiling a dirt sheet on sitting MPs. Sukkar and MP
Kevin Andrews were later cleared of using tax payer funds to recruit party members. The party's local government committee decided on the suspension of Okotel, just weeks after Ms Okotel was installed to the position, ''The Australian'' reported.
The staunch social conservative has been linked
with party president
Robert Clark Robert, Bob, or Bobby Clark may refer to:
Television and film
*Robert Clark (actor) (born 1987), American-born Canadian television actor
*Bob Clark (1939–2007), Canadian filmmaker
*Bob Clark (television reporter), retired American television rep ...
and Opposition Leader
Michael O'Brien. She was replaced by Teena McQueen.
Personal life
Okotel met her husband, David, a
Ugandan
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The southe ...
, during her time working for Baptist World Aid. The pair went on to make a documentary about Uganda's internally displaced people and child soldiers. The couple married in Uganda in 2010 and have three children.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okotel, Karina
Living people
1980 births
Australian people of Sri Lankan descent
Australian politicians of Asian descent
Liberal Party of Australia politicians
Australian anti-same-sex-marriage activists
Melbourne Law School alumni
Politicians from Melbourne
21st-century Australian politicians
Mayors of places in Victoria (state)