A MAJOR milestone for Filipinos in Australia. Filipino-Australians Jess Diaz and Irene Ensomo Broad are the first Pinoys to be elected into public office at the local level Down Under.
Diaz, a lawyer won a seat in the council of Blacktown City, one of the largest suburbs of New South Wales with the largest concentration of Filipinos in Australia — 21,000 registered in the 2006 Australian census.
Diaz is a former schoolteacher and was senior legal counsel for Citibank Australia before going into private legal practice. He has been an active community leader, a member of the Jaycees, Lions, and the Knights of Rizal.
On the other hand, Broad is the first Filipino female councilor reelected in the shire of Temora, and the first Filipino-Australian to be elected into public office in the state of New South Wales.
Credited for crafting town policies that has made Temora one of the most friendly towns in New South Wales, she was first elected as an independent councilor in 2004 in the predominantly Caucasian district.
Philippine Consul General Maria Theresa Lazaro said that while Australian mainstream society acknowledges Filipino-Australians as active participants in nation-building, “this is the first time that Filipino-Australians in New South Wales have exhibited interest and involvement in Australian mainstream politics.”
She said this interest to seek public office and to be politically empowered augurs well for other Filipino-Australians who may be encouraged to do the same.
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