Karina Okotel

Karina Okotel is a federal vice president of the Liberal Party.[1] She was an unsuccessful senate candidate for Victoria in the 2016 Australian federal election. She was one of the leaders of the unsuccessful "No" campaign in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey.

Early life and education

Karina Okotel was born in 1980. She is of Sri Lankan descent and a daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who worked menial jobs before becoming owners of a liquor store.[2] She studied arts/law at Melbourne University and then worked at an orphanage on the Thai/Myanmar border. She completed her articles as a solicitor and then travelled to Uganda with Baptist World Aid, working on goat rearing projects and peanut farming. Her other roles included working for the Tenants' Union, the Mental Health Legal Centre and the Barwon Community Legal Centre. In these roles she advocated left wing politics.[3]

Career and political activities

Karina Okotel joined the Liberal Party in 2010 after the party's success at the Victorian state election. In 2012, she ran and was elected as councillor for the Rosstown ward and later became deputy mayor of the Glen Eira City Council.[4] During 2016, Karina resigned from the Glen Eira Council to run for the Australian Senate[5] and was the 6th place candidate for the Liberal Party but was unsuccessful.[6] She was elected as federal Liberal Party vice-president in June 2017.[7]

Since 2015, Karina has been a leading campaigner of opposing legalising gay marriage in Australia. In September 2017, she decided to come out of maternity leave to support the Coalition for Marriage.[8] She wrote an opinion piece for The Australian describing her fears on the freedom of speech, religion and association if same-sex marriage is legalised.[9] On 12 September, she debated Christine Foster on ABC Radio National.[10] On 13 September, she spoke at the National Press Club alongside Lyle Shelton for the campaign against same sex marriage.[11] On 23 September, she was a panelist on the ABC Q&A Same-Sex Marriage debate.[12]

Personal life

Okotel met her husband, David, a Ugandan, during her time working for Baptist World Aid. The pair went on to make a documentary about Uganda's internally displaced people and child soldiers. The couple married in Uganda in 2010 and have three children.[7]

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References
  1. Crowe, Maher. "We're the party of freedom: Turnbull tries to rally Liberals". The Australian.
  2. Maley, Jacqueline (20 September 2017). "Karina Okotel, the 'bleeding heart' lawyer who opposes same-sex marriage". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 12 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20140214214108/https://www.ag.gov.au/Consultations/Documents/Publicsubmissionsonthedraftbaselinestudy/BarwonCommunityLegalService.doc
  4. "Results for Glen Eira City Council Elections 2012". Victorian Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  5. "Glen Eira councillor apologises for linking same-sex marriage to bestiality". Heraldsun.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  6. Soraghan, Kerrie (23 April 2013). "Making a difference: Karina Okotel, civil lawyer, Frankston". Legalaid.vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  7. Maley, Jacqueline (19 September 2017). "Karina Okotel, the 'bleeding heart' lawyer who opposes same-sex marriage". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  8. "Unlikely face of No campaign: The lawyer who 'cares'". News.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  9. Okotel, Karina (1 September 2017). "Why I'll vote for freedom in the same-sex marriage debate". The Australian. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  10. "'That is inequality at its very basic level': Forster". Radio National. 12 September 2017. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  11. "Lyle Shelton & Karina Okotel - National Press Club of Australia". Npc.org.au. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  12. "Karina Okotel and Magda Szubanski clash over the consequences of same-sex marriage on Q&A". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 30 October 2017. Archived from the original on 23 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.


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