Indian-Australian takes oath as NSW Treasurer on Bhagavad Gita

Melbourne : Indian-origin politician Daniel Mookhey recited the holy Bhagavad Gita while being sworn in as Treasurer of Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) state by Governor Margaret Beazley in Sydney. Mookhey was sworn in on Tuesday along with NSW Premier Chris Min and six other ministers. “Sworn in as Treasurer of the Great State of NSW,” Mookhey said in a statement. Thank you to the people of NSW for giving us this honor and privilege.
“I am incredibly honored and humbled as the first Australian minister, state or union, to take the oath of allegiance on the Bhagavad Gita,” he said. This is only possible because Australia has been so open and welcoming to the contribution of people like my parents, whom I am thinking of a lot as I take the oath today.
In 2015, Mookhey was elected by Labor to the NSW Upper House to replace Steve Vaughan, making him the first politician from the state of Indian background as well as the first to take an oath of allegiance on the Bhagavad Gita. In 2019, he became Shadow Minister for Finance and Small Business and Shadow Minister for the Gig Economy.
Addressing the ministers, Governor Beazley said, “It is time to relax and enjoy before the really hard work again.” Mukhi’s parents had migrated to Australia from Punjab in 1973. Born in the Blacktown suburb, Mookhey has three university degrees and has worked as a consultant to unions, charities and community groups.