Keith Wolahan

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Keith Wolahan (born 30 September 1977) is anAustralian Liberal Party politician. He is currently a Member of the House of Representatives for the seat of Menzies, to which he was first elected at the 2022 Federal Election. Wolahan is a three tour veteran of Afghanistan as a commando officer, practiced as a commercial barrister for twelve years, and, was elected to the Parliament of Australia on 21 May 2022.

Family background

Wolahan was born in Dublin, Ireland, migrating to Australia with his parents and two brothers in 1988.He became an Australian citizen in 1993. He was educated at local public schools, including Ringwood Secondary College where he was elected School Captain. He worked part-time at McDonald's in Eastland, Ringwood.

Education and legal career

He studied at the University of Melbourne where he graduated with Bachelor degrees in Arts (Politics) and Commerce (Economics).Wolahan continued studying at Monash University, completing a Bachelor of Law (Honours). He was awarded the Sir Charles Lowe Moot Prize.

Wolahan began his career in law with the national firm, Mallesons Stephen Jacques where he specialised in mergers and acquisitions.In 2010 he became a barrister, specialising in commercial and consumer trials. Some of Wolahan's clients included multinational resource company, Glencore, as well as individuals accused of war related crimes.

In 2013, Wolahan graduated from University of Cambridge with a master's degree in International Relations.

Military service

When asked why he had joined the military, Wolahan explained that "Australia had been very good to me and my family, and I couldn't think of a better way to give back." He began his service at University, eventually joining 2 Commando Company, 1st Commando Regiment. Wolahan was promoted to Captain in 2004 and saw several periods of active service, including four postings overseas with 2 Commando:

• East Timor 2007 for six months as the Special Operations Liaison Officer for the Apprehension Task Group during the Battle of Same.
• Afghanistan 2008 for six months as the Operations Officer with the Special Operations Task Group HQ in Kandahar.
• Afghanistan 2009–10 for six months as a Platoon Commander within the Special Operations Task Group HQ based in Tarinkot. Wolahan led intelligence-driven operations, and Joint Prioritized Effects List missions, sometimes commanding 80 troops.
• Afghanistan 2014 for four months embedded as the Deputy Chief of Operations with a United States Special Operations Command task force based in Bagram. Much of the work of this group involved targeted drone led operations.

Wolahan lost two friends in the War in Afghanistan: Marcus Case and Greg Sher. He joined two other Afghanistan veterans in the Australian Parliament: Andrew Hastie and Phillip Thompson.

Preselection

Wolahan defeated the sitting member Kevin Andrews in a preselection contest, 181 votes to 111.Andrews entered the contest with written endorsements from then Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison. It was the first time a sitting Victorian Liberal MP had been ousted by their members in more than 20 years.

2022 election

The 2022 federal election saw a 6% swing against the Liberals in Menzies. One of the contributing factors was a large swing in suburbs with higher proportions of Chinese ancestry, including Box Hill and Doncaster.

47th Parliament

Wolahan is a member of the House Economics and Joint Standing National Anti-Corruption Commission Committees.

Wolahan has rejected suggestions he is a member of the moderate or conservative factions of the Liberal Party. He has been reported to be aligned to a Centrist group in the party room, along with the majority of Victorian Liberals.

Same sex marriage

Wolahan stated that he voted "yes" in the 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite.

Home Ownership

Wolahan has cited plummeting home ownership rates amongst young Australians as one of his party's top political and societal challenges.

Constitutional Conservatism

In a speech given to the Samuel Griffith Society in 2017, Wolahan expressed his opposition to a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous Voice to Parliament, and called instead for “minimalist” reforms that “removes race from the Constitution”. His concerns have since narrowed to the risk of unintended consequences in the Voice to the Executive.

Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

When asked about his views on the war in Iraq, Wolahan said that, with the benefit of hindsight, the invasion by the United States-led coalition was a "mistake". In response to allegations of war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan, Wolahan has urged "truth telling over myth making."

Protests in Iran

Wolahan has given several speeches in support of the protests that began in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, citing pride in his electorate having the largest Iranian diaspora in Australia.

Robodebt

In a widely reported speech to parliament, Wolahan was highly critical of the scheme, noting: “As someone who’s a Liberal and believes in the sanctity of the individual, due process and the presumption of innocence, it offended all of those, … it was illiberal, it reversed the onus, and it hurt people.”

Wolahan is married to his wife Sarah and has two children, Leo and Eva. He and Sarah were married at Heide Museum of Modern Art.