Samantha Shantini Ratnam is a British-Australian social worker and politician.
10 Facts About Samantha Ratnam
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Samantha Ratnam was the leader of the Victorian Greens between 2017 and 2024, serving as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council in the Northern Metropolitan Region.
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From 1995 to 2001 Samantha Ratnam completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Melbourne.
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Samantha Ratnam first stood for and was elected to the City of Moreland Council for South Ward in 2012.
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Ahead of the 2016 federal election the Greens preselected Samantha Ratnam to stand in the Division of Wills, where the sitting Labor MP Kelvin Thomson was retiring.
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Samantha Ratnam filled the vacant Legislative Council seat of former Victorian Greens leader Greg Barber, who announced his retirement from politics on 28 September 2017.
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On 12 October 2017, prior to having officially filled Barber's seat, Samantha Ratnam was appointed as leader of the Victorian Greens, becoming the first woman to lead the party at a state level.
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Samantha Ratnam was officially sworn in as a member of the Legislative Council on 19 October 2017.
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Samantha 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.
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In 2023, Samantha 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.