First Indian-origin Politician Sworn in as Treasurer of Australia’s New South Wales State

Daniel Mookhey has become the first politician of Indian-origin to become the Treasurer in any Australian state.

Mookhey, a Hindu, took his oath of allegiance on the holy Bhagavad Gita on Tuesday.

He was sworn in along with New South Wales (NSW) Premier Chris Minns and six other ministers, reported The Australia Today.

”Sworn in as Treasurer of the great state of NSW. Thank you to the people of NSW who entrusted us with this honour and privilege,” Mookhey, 39, said in a statement.

”I am incredibly honoured and humbled to be the first Australian Minister, state or federally, to take my oath of allegiance on the Bhagavad Gita. This is only possible because Australia is so open and so welcoming to the contributions of people like my parents, who I was thinking about a lot as I took my oath earlier today,” he said.

Earlier, in 2015, Mookhey was elected by the Labour to replace Steve Whan in the New South Wales upper, making him the state’s first politician of Indian background and the first to take the oath of allegiance on the Bhagavad Gita.

The new NSW Parliament will have the maximum number of Indian-origin members ever with Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, Charishma Kaliyanda who has been elected from Liverpool, Gurmesh Singh from the Nationals who retained his seat from Coffs Harbour and Deputy Premier Pru Car, who also has part-Indian ancestry.

Mookhey’s parents migrated from Punjab to Australia in 1973.

Born in the Blacktown suburb, Mookhey holds three university degrees and previously worked as a consultant to unions, charities and community groups.

Australia is now also home to over 680,000 Hindus with Hinduism being the third largest religion in the country, the report added.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)