Roshena Campbell is an Australian barrister and politician. Since

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, she has served as a member of the

City of Melbourne The City of Melbourne is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the central city area of Melbourne. In 2018, the city has an area of and had a population of 169,961. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. The ci ...

council. Campbell unsuccessfully contested the

Division of Aston The Division of Aston is an Australian Federal Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. The division is located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, coextensive with the City of Knox local government area. The suburbs in the division inclu ...

for the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

in the 2023 by-election.

Early life and education

Campbell's parents migrated from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in the 1970s. Speaking on her upbringing, Campbell stated that her parents were small business owners who supported the Liberal premiership of

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

and the tenure of

Peter Costello Peter Howard Costello (born 14 August 1957) is an Australian businessman, lawyer and former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia in government of John Howard from 1996 to 2007. He is the longest-serving treasurer in Australia' ...

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

. At age 17, Campbell moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

by herself. She attended the

Monash University Faculty of Law Monash University Faculty of Law, or Monash Law School, is the law school of Monash University. Founded in 1963, it is based in Melbourne, Victoria and has campuses in Malaysia and Italy. It is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools i ...

, and also 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 she received a

Master of Law A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree in 2010.

Career

After graduating from Monash University, Campbell worked for leading commercial law firm

Corrs Chambers Westgarth Founded in 1841, Corrs Chambers Westgarth (often referred to as ''Corrs'') is a leading, independent Australian commercial law firm. Its clients include national and international corporations, governments, banks and financial sponsors. The firm ...

. She went on to become a commercial and public law barrister in 2016. Campbell was elected a

councillor in the 2020 election. She was among the members of the council elected in alliance with

Sally Capp Sally Anne Capp is an Australian politician who is the 104th lord mayor of Melbourne, elected on 18 May 2018 and sworn in on 24 May 2018. She is also the former executive director of the development lobbying group the Property Council of Victori ...

. As a councillor, Campbell has criticised what she calls " anti-car measures". In September 2022, Campbell stood down from her position as deputy chair of the council's transport portfolio after criticising the City of Melbourne's

bike lane Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles (marked with a solid white line, entry by motor v ...

rollout. Campbell argued the bike lane rollout was increasing traffic congestion and stunting the CBD’s economic recovery. Campbell has been a vocal opponent of a drug injecting room in the

. In 2021 Campbell became a regular contributor to

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

2021 parliamentary selection effort

In 2021, the

Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...

(AFR) reported that Campbell who had been considered a potential Senate preselection candidate instead sought preselection for the

Division of Casey The Division of Casey is an Australian electoral division in the state of Victoria. The division was created in 1969 and is named for Richard Casey, who was Governor-General of Australia 1965–69. The division is located in the outer easte ...

in the 2022 federal election. The AFR reported that journalist and former Liberal staffer

James Campbell James Campbell may refer to: Academics * James Archibald Campbell (1862–1934), founder of Campbell University in North Carolina * James Marshall Campbell (1895–1977), dean of the college of arts and sciences at the Catholic University of Ameri ...

, the husband of the candidate, supported her pre-selection and became the primary carer of their children during the preselection period.

2023 Aston by-election

In 2023, Campbell contested the

in a 2023 by-election following the resignation of Liberal MP

Alan Tudge Alan Tudge (born 24 February 1971) is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Liberal Party and has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2010 federal election. He was a cabinet minister in the Morrison government fr ...

. Campbell was selected as the Liberal candidate by the state party's administration committee, defeating preselection candidates oncologist

Ranjana Srivastava Ranjana Srivastava is an oncologist, Fulbright scholar and author from Melbourne. She is a regular columnist for ''The Guardian'' newspaper, where she writes about the intersection between medicine and humanity, and a frequent essayist for t ...

and former Liberal MP

Cathrine Burnett-Wake Cathrine Mary Burnett-Wake is a former Australian politician, who was a member of the Victorian Legislative Council for the Eastern Victoria Region representing the Liberal Party between December 2021 and November 2022. Burnett-Wake was appoint ...

. During the selection process, Campbell received the support of former MP and

Treasurer of Australia The Treasurer of Australia (or Federal Treasurer) is a high ranking official and senior minister of the Crown in the Government of Australia who is the head of the Ministry of the Treasury which is responsible for government expenditure and ...

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 ...

. Had Campbell won, she would have made history as the first woman of Indian descent to serve as a Liberal member of parliament. Campbell ultimately lost the by-election to

Mary Doyle Mary Doyle (July 21, 1931 – June 8, 1995) was an American theatre actress who also appeared on TV between 1956 and 1982. Early life and career Doyle was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, and was the younger sister of actor David Doyle. She ac ...

, the candidate of the Labor Party. During her concession speech, Campbell stated that "I will always be proud to be a Liberal and I will always be proud to be Australian because we live in the greatest country in the world."

Personal life

Campbell is married to

News Corporation News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Ne ...

political editor

and is the mother of three children. Campbell resides in

Brunswick, Victoria Brunswick is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Melbourne city centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Merri-bek Local government areas of Victoria, local gov ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Roshena Australian lawyers Women local councillors in Australia Australian people of Indian descent Australian politicians of Asian descent Monash University alumni Australian Hindus Victoria (state) local councillors Year of birth missing (living people) Living people