Samantha Ratnam

Samantha Shantini Ratnam (Tamil: சமந்தா இரத்தினம்; born 1977) is an Sri Lankan Australian social worker, politician and the current leader of the Victorian Greens. Since October 2017 Ratnam has been a member of the Victorian Legislative Council, representing the Northern Metropolitan Region. Prior to this she was a councillor and mayor for the City of Moreland.

Samantha Ratnam
MLC
Samantha Ratnam
Leader of the Victorian Greens
Assumed office
12 October 2017
DeputyNina Springle (2017–18)
Ellen Sandell (2018–present)
Preceded byGreg Barber
Member of the Victorian Legislative Council
Assumed office
19 October 2017
Preceded byGreg Barber
ConstituencyNorthern Metropolitan Region
Mayor of Moreland
In office
2015–2016
Preceded byMeghan Hopper
Succeeded byHelen Davidson
Councillor for City of Moreland
In office
1 October 2012 – 11 October 2017
Personal details
Born1977 (age 45–46)[1]
England, United Kingdom[1]
NationalityAustralian
Political partyGreens
SpouseColin Jacobs[2]
Children1[2]
Residence(s)Brunswick East, Melbourne, Victoria[2]
EducationMullauna College[3]
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
Occupation
  • Social worker
  • Politician
WebsiteSamantha Ratnam website

Early life

Born in England and raised in Sri Lanka,[4] Samantha Ratnam and her family left the country after the 'Black July' 1983 riots in Colombo that gave rise to 30-year Sri Lankan Civil War between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a Tamil separatist group. The family eventually settled in Australia after spending time in Europe and Canada.[5]

From 1995 to 2001 Samantha Ratnam completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) from the University of Melbourne. In 2014, she completed her Doctor of Philosophy, titled 'Young people and global citizenship: New possibilities for civic participation', also from the University of Melbourne.[6]

Ratnam has worked in various roles in assisting migrants and asylum seekers including at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, in the fields of drug and alcohol rehabilitation, mental health and international development.[5]

In April 2014, Samantha Ratnam explained in The Indian Sun, an online publication for the Australian-Indian community how she is a product of diaspora and her motivations for entering politics.[7]

Moreland Council

Ratnam first stood for and was elected to the City of Moreland (now City of Merri-bek) Council for South Ward in 2012 as one of three Ward Councillors.[5] In 2016 she was re-elected with her vote more than doubling to over 55 percent of the ward vote.[8]

In 2015 she was elected by councillors as the first Greens mayor of Moreland for 2016 in a 6 to 5 vote with Independent Councillor Helen Davidson and Socialist Alliance Councillor Sue Bolton supporting her bid for the mayor.[5] Her election as Mayor was even noted in the country of her heritage, Sri Lanka,[9] and by the Indian community in Australia,[10] and in Tamil culture.[11]

In her time on the council, Ratnam was instrumental in removing official council references to Australia Day, saying “this is a gesture of respect and an important step in healing”.[12] Ratnam resigned from the council on 11 October 2017.[13]

2016 Federal election campaign

Ahead of the 2016 federal election the Greens preselected Ratnam to stand in the Division of Wills, where the sitting Labor MP Kelvin Thomson was retiring.[14]

Although Ratnam substantially increased the Greens vote with a swing greater than 10 percentage points in Wills, the Labor candidate Peter Khalil won the seat with a 4.88 point margin.[15][16]

State politics

Ratnam filled the vacant Legislative Council seat of former Victorian Greens leader Greg Barber, who announced his retirement from politics on 28 September 2017.[17] On 12 October 2017, prior to having officially filled Barber's seat, Ratnam was appointed as leader of the Victorian Greens, becoming the first woman to lead the party at a state level.[18][19] She was officially sworn in as a member of the Legislative Council on 19 October 2017.[20]

Ratnam was re-elected in the Northern Metropolitan region at the 2018 state election, though her four party colleagues failed to win back their seats and she became the only Greens member of the Legislative Council.[21]

Tenure

During her time in state politics, Ratnam has established parliamentary inquiries into the growing threat of far-right extremism (2022),[22] the biodiversity extinction crisis (2019),[23] and the waste and recycling crisis (2019).[24]

According to The Age, between November 2018 and November 2021, Ratnam voted with the Andrews Government's position 62.4% of the time, the fourth-most of any Legislative Council crossbencher.[25]

In 2023, Ratnam threatened to block a proposal by the Labor Party in Victoria to increase housing supply unless half of all new developments were either affordable housing or public housing.[26] At the time, South Australia required that 15% of all new development were affordable housing, of which 5% were for the highest-need groups.[26] She said that for the Greens to support reforms to increase housing supply, "the reforms must demonstrate that they meaningfully address housing affordability, and are not merely a free ride for the property industry."[26] Ratnam also called for a two-year rent freeze.[26]

Academic research

As a social work PhD student, Ratnam contributed to a number of peer-reviewed research papers and academic books, including:

  • The Nobody's Clients Project: Identifying and Addressing the Needs of Children with Substance Dependent Parents: Full Report – 2004 – Odyssey Institute of Studies ISBN 0975714805
  • Identifying Children's Needs When Parents Access Drug Treatment: The Utility of a Brief Screening Measure – 12 October 2008 – Taylor and Francis Online
  • Global Connections: ‘A Tool for Active Citizenship’ – 20 October 2009 – Taylor and Francis Online
  • Youth-led Learning: Local Connections & Global Citizenship. Australian Youth Research Centre, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, 2008 ISBN 0734039859
  • Chapter 12 Young People and the future in For We Are Young And ...: Young People in a Time of Uncertainty (Book) By Johanna Wyn, Roger Holdsworth, Sally Beadle – Melbourne Univ. Publishing, 15 March 2011 ISBN 9780522858365
  • Chapter 4 Citizenship beyond status: New paradigms for citizenship education, in Educating for Global Citizenship: A Youth-led Approach to Learning and Partnership by Ani Wierenga, Jose Roberto Guevara. Melbourne Univ. Publishing, 1 February 2013 ISBN 9780522861006
  • Young people and global citizenship: new possibilities for civic participation. 2015 (PhD thesis)

References
  1. Kolovos, Benita (13 November 2022). "Samantha Ratnam, the march of the Greens and the unfulfilled promise of the 'most progressive government' ever". Guardian Australia.
  2. Fyfe, Melissa (16 November 2022). "She's a safe pair of hands, but Greens leader needs her 'Google it, mate' moment". The Age.
  3. "Samantha Ratnam – Inaugural Speech". hansard.parliament.vic.gov.au. Parliament of Victoria. 1 November 2017.
  4. Kandiah, Shanelle (22 March 2016). "Meet the Mayor of Moreland, Australia: Samantha Ratnam". Tamil Culture. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
  5. Reynolds, Peter (30 October 2015). "Moreland Council elects first Green mayor Samantha Ratnam". Moreland Leader/Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  6. "Young people and global citizenship: new possibilities for civic participation". Minerva Access. hdl:11343/52650. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  7. Kallivayalil, Tanu (24 April 2014). "Taking a Stand". The Indian Sun. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  8. Choahan, Neelima (23 October 2016). "Greens vote surges in Victorian council elections". The Age. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  9. "Lankan born woman elected Mayor of Australian city". Weekend Nation (Sri Lanka). 30 October 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  10. "Samanta Ratnam – New Mayor for Moreland City Council". India2Australia. 27 October 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  11. Kandiah, Shanelle (22 March 2016). "Meet the Mayor of Moreland, Australia: Samantha Ratnam". TamilCulture. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  12. "Moreland City Council keeps citizenship ceremony, dumps Australia Day". The Age (Fairfax Media). 13 September 2017.
  13. "Greens councillor Samantha Ratnam resigns from Moreland Council ahead of taking up position in Victorian parliament". Herald Sun. 11 October 2017.
  14. Willingham, Richard (30 January 2016). "Greens enlist Moreland mayor for assault on Wills". The Age. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  15. "Wills, Vic. AEC Tallyroom". Australian Electoral Commission. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  16. Heath, Tamara (4 July 2016). "Labor's Peter Khalil claims Wills, but Samantha Ratnam and the Greens the big winners". Moreland Leader/Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  17. "Victorian Greens leader Greg Barber quits Parliament". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 28 September 2017.
  18. "Victorian Greens appoint Samantha Ratnam to replace Greg Barber as state leader". ABC News. 12 October 2017.
  19. "Greens name ex-mayor of Moreland as party leader before she even takes her seat". The Age (Fairfax Media). 12 October 2017.
  20. "New MLC sworn in; Dr. Samantha Ratnam". Parliament of Victoria. 19 October 2017.
  21. "Victorian election Upper House calculation results confirm Labor, crossbench domination". ABC News. 11 December 2018.
  22. "Far-right threat under spotlight as Andrews government backs probe". 30 November 2021.
  23. "Victorian government pressed to deliver promised funding for threatened plants and animals". TheGuardian.com. 2 December 2021.
  24. "Victorian parliamentary inquiry into 'waste crisis' - Waste Management Review Victorian parliamentary inquiry into 'waste crisis'". 8 March 2019.
  25. Sakkal, Paul (26 November 2021). "'Is this what compliant looks like?': Victoria's crossbench conflict". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  26. Kolovos, Benita (16 June 2023). "Victorian Greens threaten to block planning changes unless housing demands met". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077.
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