Frydenberg wins Kooyong – three Jewish Members of Parliament

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Josh Frydenberg has become the first Jewish Liberal Member of Federal Parliament since 1991.

Josh Frydenberg

Mark Dreyfus

The successful candidate for the seat of Kooyong went to both Bialik and Mt Scopus Jewish dayschools. He successfully completed his law degree at Monash University and holds a Masters degree in administration from Harvard University. A successful tennis player and coach, Frydenberg entered the world of politics as assistant advisor to former  Attorney-General Darryl Williams.

Michael Danby and  Mark Dreyfus have retained their respective Federal Labour seats of Melbourne Ports and Isaacs resulting in three Jewish members of Parliament.  Danby told J-Wire: “This has been a very gratifying result for me especially when I cionsider what happened at the the adjacent seat of Melbourne….and as for Queensland? Well, that’s a different world.”

Michael Danby

The Greens won Melbourne, the seat formerly held by the Gillard Government’s Minister for Finance, Lindsay Tanner. Cath Bowtell had been nominated as his successor…but she failed to hold the seat.

Robert Goot, the president of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry said: “It’s very encouraging to have three members of the community as elected members of the House of Representatives…I can only hope this will improve in the future.”

There were four Jewish members of the Whitlam Labour Government which governed Australian between 1972 and 1975. There has not been a Liberal sitting member since Peter Baume in 1991.