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Tania Mihailuk
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Mihailuk in 2022
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| Leader of One Nation – New South Wales | |
| Assumed office 10 December 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Mark Latham |
| Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council | |
| Assumed office 10 May 2023 | |
| Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for Bankstown | |
| In office 26 March 2011 – 1 March 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Tony Stewart |
| Succeeded by | Jihad Dib |
| 51st Mayor of Bankstown | |
| In office 1 September 2006 – 27 June 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Helen Westwood |
| Succeeded by | Khal Asfour |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1976-05-05) 5 May 1976 (age 48)[1] |
| Political party | One Nation (since 2023) |
| Other political affiliations | Labor (until 2022) Independent (2022–2023) |
| Spouse | Alex Kuskoff |
| Residence(s) | Chester Hill, Sydney, New South Wales[2] |
| Alma mater | Macquarie University |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | taniamihailukmlc |
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Tania Mihailuk (born 5 May 1976) is an Australian politician, currently serving as member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 2023.[3] She served as mayor of the City of Bankstown from 2006 to 2011.[4]
Mihailuk was the first woman to represent Bankstown in the electoral district's history, serving in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 2011 to 2023. She initially served as a member of the Labor Party before resigning from the party in 2022. She joined One Nation in January 2023[5] and ran for the Legislative Council on the party's ticket at the March election, at which she was unsuccessful.[6][7] Mihailuk was appointed to the New South Wales Legislative Council on 10 May 2023, filling a casual vacancy created by the resignation of Mark Latham, shortly before the 2023 New South Wales state election.[8]
Mihailuk attended Macquarie University and graduated with a degree in economics and later a degree in law. She has worked in various industries, including marketing and public policy.[9]
Mihailuk was elected to Bankstown Council in 2004 and became mayor in 2006. She was endorsed as the Labor candidate for Bankstown in November 2010 after sitting member Tony Stewart announced his resignation.[10] She stated she would resign from council if she won, which she did, having suffered a swing against her of more than 15 points, as part of the Coalition's landslide election win.[11]
On 20 September 2022, Mihailuk used parliamentary privilege to link Canterbury-Bankstown Council mayor, Khal Asfour, to corrupt former Labor Minister Eddie Obeid, which was a stark contrast with her prominent thanks of Asfour in her maiden parliamentary speech for being her campaign director.[12] On 23 September, Labor Opposition Leader, Chris Minns, demoted Mihailuk from the Shadow Cabinet.[13][14] On 20 October 2022, Mihailuk resigned from the NSW Labor Party, claiming that the party was "plagued by corruption"[15] and that it was "too woke".[16]
On 17 January 2023, Mihailuk announced that she would be running second on the One Nation ticket at the upcoming 2023 New South Wales state election for the Legislative Council, behind party leader Mark Latham.[6] Before that, in 2017 when she was a Labor MP she criticised One Nation and Mark Latham.[17] Mihailuk officially resigned from the New South Wales Legislative Assembly on 1 March 2023.[7]
Mihailuk resides in Chester Hill with her husband, Alex, and has three children.
I am eager to place on record my enormous gratitude to the many people who assisted and supported me in the election, many of whom are here today. First among them I thank my campaign director, Khal Asfour, for his unstinting support and loyalty. Khal worked with a fantastic campaign team— ... the Asfour family and all the team that came out in force on election day.
| New South Wales Legislative Assembly | ||
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| Preceded by | Member for Bankstown 2011–2023 |
Succeeded by |
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| Labor (15) |
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| Coalition (14) |
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| Greens (4) |
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| SFF (2) |
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| Other (7) |
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