Cassandra Fernando

{{Short description|Australian politician (born 1987)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Use Australian English|date=November 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Cassandra Fernando | honorific_suffix = MP | image = Joint Standing Committee on the Parliamentary Library 2023 (Fernando cropped).png | caption = Official portrait, 2023 | constituency_MP1 = Holt | parliament1 = Australian | term_start1 = 21 May 2022 | term_end1 = | predecessor1 = Anthony Byrne | successor1 = | party = Labor | other_party = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1987|9|18|df=y}} | birth_place = Colombo, Sri Lanka | relations = | spouse = | children = | alma_mater = Box Hill Institute | occupation = Pastry cook<br/>Trade unionist | profession = | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Cassandra Fernando''' (born 18 September 1987) is a Sri Lankan-born Australian politician and trade unionist who has served as the member of parliament (MP) for the Victorian division of Holt since 2022. She is a member of the Labor Party and the first Sri Lankan-born woman to be seated in the Australian parliament.<ref>{{cite news |date=23 May 2022 |title=Sri Lanka born Cassandra Fernando wins seat at Australia election |url=https://www.dailynews.lk/2022/05/23/local/279339/sri-lanka-born-cassandra-fernando-wins-seat-australia-election |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702151529/http://dailynews.lk/2022/05/23/local/279339/sri-lanka-born-cassandra-fernando-wins-seat-australia-election |archive-date=2 July 2022 |access-date=8 July 2022 |work=Daily News}}</ref>

==Early life== Fernando was born in Sri Lanka and came to Australia with her parents in 1999 at the age of 11. She grew up in Dandenong North, Victoria, and holds a diploma in hospitality and a certificate in education support.<ref name=star>{{cite news|url=https://dandenong.starcommunity.com.au/news/2022-04-07/alps-byrne-replacement-chosen/|title=ALP's Byrne replacement chosen|newspaper=Star Journal|date=7 April 2022|accessdate=30 April 2022|archive-date=1 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501133916/https://dandenong.starcommunity.com.au/news/2022-04-07/alps-byrne-replacement-chosen/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Fernando worked at Woolworths in Dandenong Plaza for almost 15 years, including as a pastry chef.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.alp.org.au/our-people/our-people/cassandra-fernando/|title=Cassandra Fernando|publisher=Australian Labor Party|accessdate=30 April 2022|archive-date=30 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430134153/https://www.alp.org.au/our-people/our-people/cassandra-fernando/|url-status=live}}</ref> She became a delegate to the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) and subsequently worked as an SDA organiser for five years.<ref name=star/>

==Politics== In March 2022, Fernando won ALP preselection for the seat of Holt at the 2022 federal election, following the retirement of incumbent MP Anthony Byrne.

She is a member of the SDA faction of Victorian Labor, which was granted the right, under the federal intervention into the Victorian branch which has led to a suspension of democratic processes in the Branch, to preselect the candidate in Holt despite the left faction having larger membership numbers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/28/labor-finalises-candidates-in-crucial-seats-ahead-of-election|title=Labor finalises candidates in crucial seats ahead of election|publisher=Guardian Australia|date=28 March 2022|first=Paul|last=Karp|accessdate=30 April 2022|archive-date=30 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220430134152/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/mar/28/labor-finalises-candidates-in-crucial-seats-ahead-of-election|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since July 2022 Fernando has served on the House of Representatives Standing Committee for Employment, Education and Training, the Standing Committee for Migration and the Parliamentary Library Committee.

== Personal life == Fernando lives in Narre Warren South.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The private interests of Cassandra Fernando MP |url=https://openpolitics.au/47/cassandra-fernando |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=openpolitics.au |language=en |archive-date=16 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240916045208/https://openpolitics.au/47/cassandra-fernando |url-status=live }}</ref> She is a member of the SDA, the Cranbourne Chamber of Commerce and the Cranbourne Historical Society.<ref name=":0" />

==References== {{reflist}} {{s-start}} {{s-par|au}} {{s-bef|before=Anthony Byrne}} {{s-ttl|title=Member for Holt | years=2022–present}} {{s-inc}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernando, Cassandra}} Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:Sri Lankan emigrants to Australia Category:Labor Right politicians Category:21st-century Australian women politicians Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Holt Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives Category:Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Category:Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Category:Australian women trade unionists Category:Australian chefs Category:Politicians from Melbourne Category:People from Colombo Category:Australian politicians of Sri Lankan descent Category:Australian women chefs Category:Australian MPs 2022–2025 Category:Australian MPs 2025–2028 Category:21st-century Australian trade unionists Category:21st-century Sri Lankan trade unionists Category:21st-century chefs