Keith Wolahan (born 30 September 1977) is an

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politician. He is currently a Member of the

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for the seat of

Menzies Menzies is a Scottish surname, with Gaelic forms being Méinnearach and Méinn, and other variant forms being Menigees, Mennes, Mengzes, Menzeys, Mengies, and Minges. Derivation and history The name and its Gaelic form are probably derived f ...

, to which he was first elected at the 2022 Federal Election. Wolahan is a three tour veteran of Afghanistan as a commando officer, practiced as a commercial barrister for twelve years, and, was elected to the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

on 21 May 2022.

Early life

Family background

Wolahan was born in Dublin, Ireland, migrating to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

with his parents and two brothers in 1988. He became an

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in 1993. He was educated at local public schools, including

Ringwood Secondary College Ringwood Secondary College is a co-educational public secondary school located in the eastern suburb of Ringwood in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Ringwood Secondary College opened as Ringwood High School in 1954 and was one of the first hig ...

where he was elected School Captain. He worked part-time at

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Eastland SS ''Eastland'' was a passenger ship based in Chicago and used for tours. On 24 July 1915, the ship rolled over onto its side while tied to a dock in the Chicago River. In total, 844 passengers and crew were killed in what was the largest loss ...

, Ringwood.

Education and legal career

He studied at the

University of Melbourne 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 ...

where he graduated with

Bachelor degrees A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

in Arts(Politics) and Commerce(Economics). Wolahan continued studying at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

, completing a Bachelor of Law (Honours). He was awarded the Sir Charles Lowe Moot Prize. Wolahan began his career in law with the national firm, Mallesons Stephen Jacques where he specialised in mergers and acquisitions. In 2010 he became a barrister, specialising in commercial and consumer trials. Some of Wolahan's clients included multinational resource company,

Glencore Glencore plc is a Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas head office is in London and its registered office is in Saint Helier, Jersey. The current company was c ...

, as well as individuals accused of war related crimes. In 2013, Wolahan graduated from

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

with a master's degree in

International Relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

Military service

When asked why he had joined the military'','' Wolahan explained that "Australia had been very good to me and my family, and I couldn't think of a better way to give back." He began his service at University, eventually joining 2 Commando Company, 1st Commando Regiment. Wolahan was promoted to Captain in 2004 and saw several periods of active service, including four postings overseas with 2 Commando: * Timor-Leste 2007 for six months as the Special Operations Liaison Officer for the Apprehension Task Group during the Battle of Same. * Afghanistan 2008 for six months as the Operations Officer with the Special Operations Task Group HQ in

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...

. * Afghanistan 2009–10 for six months as a Platoon Commander within the Special Operations Task Group HQ based in

Tarinkot Tarīnkōṭ ( prs, ترين کوت), also spelled as Tarin Kowt, is the capital of Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in the Tarinkot District. Tarinkot city has a population of 71,604 (2015), with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaar ...

. Wolahan led intelligence-driven operations, and

Joint Prioritized Effects List The Joint Prioritized Effects List or JPEL is a list of individuals who coalition forces in Afghanistan try to capture or kill. The Task Force 373 is working through the list. According to the Afghan War Diary German troops listed Shirin Agha wi ...

missions, sometimes commanding 80 troops. * Afghanistan 2014 for four months embedded as the Deputy Chief of Operations with a

United States Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Arm ...

task force based in

Bagram Bagram (; Pashto/ fa, بگرام) is a town and seat in Bagram District in Parwan Province of Afghanistan, about 60 kilometers north of the capital Kabul. It is the site of an ancient city located at the junction of the Ghorband and Panjshir Va ...

. Much of the work of this group involved targeted drone led operations. Wolahan lost two friends in the War in Afghanistan: Marcus Case and Greg Sher. He joined two other Afghanistan veterans in the Australian Parliament:

Andrew Hastie Andrew William Hastie (born 30 September 1982) is an Australian politician and former military officer currently serving as the Shadow Minister, shadow minister for defence. He previously served as the Minister for Defence (Australia), Assistan ...

and

Phillip Thompson Phillip Bruce Thompson, (born 7 May 1988) is an Australian politician. His party is the Liberal National Party of Queensland and he sits with the Liberal Party in federal parliament. He is a member of the House of Representatives, representing ...

Political career

Preselection

Wolahan defeated the sitting member Kevin Andrews in a preselection contest, 181 votes to 111. Andrews entered the contest with written endorsements from then Treasurer

Josh Frydenberg Joshua Anthony Frydenberg () (born 17 July 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He also served as a member of parliament (MP) for the divisio ...

, and Prime Minister

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...

. It was the first time a sitting Victorian Liberal MP had been ousted by their members in more than 20 years.

2022 election

The 2022 federal election saw a 6% swing against the Liberals in Menzies. One of the contributing factors was a large swing in suburbs with higher proportions of Chinese ancestry, including Box Hill and Doncaster.

47^th Parliament

Wolahan is a member of the House Economics and Joint Standing National Anti-Corruption Commission Committees.

Views

Home Ownership

Wolahan has cited plummeting home ownership rates amongst young Australians as one of his party's top political and societal challenges.

Conservatism

Wolahan has rejected suggestions he is aligned with the moderate ideological faction of the Liberal Party. In a speech given to the

Samuel Griffith Society The Samuel Griffith Society was founded in 1992 by a group led by former Chief Justice of Australia Sir Harry Gibbs, former Senator John Stone, businessman Hugh Morgan and legal academic Greg Craven. Named after Sir Samuel Griffith, one of th ...

in 2017, Wolahan expressed his opposition to an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, and called instead for “minimalist” reforms that “removes race from the Constitution”.

Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

When asked about his views on the

war in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. Other armed conflicts involving Iraq * Wars during Mandatory Iraq ** Ikhwan raid on South Iraq 1921 * Smaller conflicts, revolutions, coups and periphery confli ...

, Wolahan said that, with the benefit of hindsight, the invasion by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

-led coalition was a "mistake". In response to allegations of war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan, Wolahan has urged "truth telling over myth making."

Personal life

Wolahan is married to his wife Sarah and has two children, Leo and Eva. He and Sarah were married at

Heide Museum of Modern Art The Heide Museum of Modern Art, also known as Heide, is an art museum in Bulleen, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1981, the museum houses modern and contemporary art across three distinct exhibition buildings and is set ...