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Australia elects new Asian-Australian MPs, but major parties urged to boost diversity
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Several MPs in the Senate have Asian ancestry, including Ms Penny Wong, who was sworn in as the Foreign Minister.
PHOTO: AFP
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SYDNEY - Australia's newly elected Parliament is gradually starting to resemble the nation's demographics after a set of Asian-Australians won seats across the country, but the major political parties have been urged to do more to promote culturally diverse candidates.
Before the election, just three MPs in the 151-member House of Representatives - or 2 per cent - were of Asian background, even though the most recent census in 2016 showed that more than 16 per cent of Australians had Asian ancestry.
