Tung The Ngo ( vi, Tùng Ngô, ; born 1972) is an Australian politician in the

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the House of Assembly. It sits in Parli ...

for the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party since the 2014 election. Ngo is linked with the

Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) is the largest private sector trade union in Australia, representing retail, fast-food and warehousing workers, and has branches in every state and territory. Its membership is pre ...

(SDA). As a child, Ngo spent a year and a half in a refugee camp in the Philippines Palawan Refugee Camp before arriving in Australia as a ten year old with his older sister in 1982. He attended

Adelaide High School Adelaide High School is a coeducational state high school situated on the corner of West Terrace and Glover Avenue in the Adelaide Parklands. Following the Advanced School for Girls, it was the second government high school in South Australia ...

then

University of South Australia The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...

where he attained a degree in Computer and Information Science. Tung became the first Vietnamese person elected to Local Government in South Australia, he was elected to the, then

City of Enfield The City of Enfield (formerly District Council of Yatala South) was a local government area of South Australia from 1868 to 1996. It was known as Yatala South up until 1933, which was named for its local government area predecessor, the District ...

Council in 1995. During his election campaign, Tung was targeted by white supremacists and personally criticized at their protests. Despite intimidation and threats, having witnessed divisive intolerance, as a local Councillor Tung wanted to break down barriers between all migrants and the broader community. He openly shared his culture and raised awareness of cultural differences. He continued in the

City of Port Adelaide Enfield The City of Port Adelaide Enfield, located across inner north and north-western suburbs of Adelaide, is one of the largest metropolitan councils within South Australia. It was established on 26 March 1996 by the amalgamation of the City of Por ...

until 2014. He is married and has three children. When elected to the South Australian Parliament in 2014, he became the first Vietnamese-born Member of Parliament in South Australia. Tung was the founder of the Vietnamese Boat People Monument unveiled in February 2021 on the Adelaide Torrens Riverbank It is a monument to remember the plight of Vietnamese boat people, the events that brought them to Australia, those lives that were lost, and to thank Australians for a new home full of hope and opportunities.

References

External links

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Parliamentary Profile: SA Labor website
Members of the South Australian Legislative Council 1972 births Living people Australian politicians of Vietnamese descent 21st-century Australian politicians University of Adelaide alumni People educated at Adelaide High School Australian politicians of Asian descent {{Australia-politician-stub