Faruqi was born on 8 July 1963[1] in Lahore, Pakistan.[2] Her father, a civil engineer, was a professor at the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) in Lahore and she grew up on the UET campus. She graduated from UET with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) degree in 1988, and subsequently worked as a structural engineer. Her older brothers, younger sister, husband, and father-in-law are also civil engineers. Faruqi and her husband Omar moved to Sydney in 1992 as skilled economic migrants, where she began attending the University of New South Wales (UNSW); her father had previously studied there under the Colombo Plan in the 1950s.[3] She completed a Master of Engineering Science degree in 1994, and later received a doctorate in environmental engineering in 2000,[2] with her doctoral thesis titled "Intensification of anaerobic lagoons for abattoir wastewater treatment and biogas recovery".[4] Faruqi moved to Port Macquarie in 2001, but moved back to Sydney in 2006. She and her husband have two children together, including Osman Faruqi, a political journalist.[3]
Before her appointment to the Legislative Council, Faruqi had a 25-year career as a professional engineer and academic. She worked in positions in local government, consulting firms and higher education institutions in Australia and internationally. These included roles such as Manager of Environment and Services at Mosman Council, Manager of Natural Resources and Catchments for Port Macquarie-Hastings Council, and as the Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at UNSW.[2]
At the time she was appointed to the New South Wales parliament, she was Academic Director of the Master of Business and Technology Program and an associate professor at the Australian Graduate School of Management for UNSW.[2]
State politics
Faruqi joined the Greens in 2004 in Port Macquarie and ran as a candidate for the Legislative Assembly seat of Heffron in 2011 and at the 2012 by-election. She was chosen to replace Cate Faehrmann in the Legislative Council in 2013, becoming the first Muslim woman to be a member of an Australian parliament.[6] Her term in the council began on 19 June 2013.[2]
In parliament, Faruqi held several portfolios for The Greens NSW: Animal Welfare, Drugs and Harm Minimisation, Environment, Lower Mid North Coast, Multiculturalism, Roads & Ports, Status of Women, Transport, Western Sydney, and Young People.[2]
Faruqi is a vocal pro-choice advocate, introducing the first parliamentary bill to decriminalise abortion in New South Wales in June 2014.[7] Faruqi is also an advocate for public transport and environmental sustainability. In March 2014, she successfully moved a motion in parliament ordering the release of all government documents relating to the creation of the business case for the WestConnex motorway. This uncovered evidence of the NSW government's plan for mass outsourcing of public service work[8] and uncertainty among WestConnex staff and advisers on the viability of the project.[9]
Faruqi resigned her position in the parliament after giving her farewell speech on 14 August 2018.[11]
Federal politics
On 25 November 2017, Faruqi defeated incumbent New South Wales Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon in a pre-selection contest for the first spot on the NSW Greens Senate ballot at the 2019 federal election.[12] Rhiannon resigned her Senate position on 15 August 2018 and on the same day Faruqi was appointed to fill the vacant seat by a joint sitting of the New South Wales Parliament.[1][13] She was sworn in on 20 August 2018, becoming the first female Muslim senator in Australian history.[14]
Faruqi was re-elected in the 2019 federal election, securing 8.7% of the state's vote, with a swing of 1.32 points in her favour.[15]
In Parliament, Faruqi has been a noted critic of horse racing and greyhound racing in Australia.[16][17] In 2021, Faruqi released a Horse Racing Transition Plan on Twitter,[18] and in 2023 proposed repurposing 'racetracks for green spaces and community facilities'.[19] Faruqi has been widely criticised by figures within the racing industry for her opposition to horse and greyhound racing.[20][21][22][23]
Following the death of Elizabeth II, Faruqi stated "I cannot mourn the leader of a racist empire built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonised peoples" as she called for a republic. Faruqi was criticised for the comments, and said she was subject to racial abuse over them.[26][27] In September 2022, Pauline Hanson tweeted that Faruqi should "piss off back to Pakistan". This came after Faruqi was slammed over an "appalling" tweet about the Queen.[28] Subsequently, Faruqi decided to launch court proceedings against Hanson for "breaching section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975".[29] On 1 November 2024 it was reported that Federal Court of Australia judge Angus Stewart had ruled that Hanson's tweet was an "angry personal attack", unconnected with the issues Faruqi raised, and was therefore "anti-Muslim or Islamophobic". Hanson was ordered to delete the tweet and was awarded costs for the entire proceedings. Hanson said that she would appeal the decision.[30]
On 9 October 2023, Faruqi criticised the decision to illuminate Parliament House in the colours of the Israeli flag (blue and white) to show solidarity with the people of Israel in the wake of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. Faruqi wrote on Twitter 'One colonial government supporting another. What a disgrace. #FreePalestine'.[31] In response, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Faruqi 'trying to play politics with this issue'.[32] The Australian Jewish News also expressed their disappointment with Faruqi's comments,[33] which were made two days after the initial 7 October attack. Faruqi, referring to the Israeli blockade of Gaza, said "Throwing bombs of white phosphorus is not defending yourself, denying 2.3 million people of food, water, electricity, fuel is not defending yourself." Senator Jordon Steele-John echoed her statements, saying that "It is a complete siege, a textbook definition of collective punishment" and criticised the government failure to condemn Israeli "crime against humanity."[34][35]
Subsequently, on Monday 6 November 2023, Faruqi led her Greens colleagues in a Senate walkout, protesting the Albanese government's refusal to call for a ceasefire to the 2023 Israel–Hamas war.[36] Faruqi lambasted the Albanese government as 'gutless, heartless, cowards.' She stated that "You are watching the massacre of thousands of Palestinians by Israel, and you are not condemning Israel, you refuse to call for an immediate ceasefire," to which Labor Senator Don Farrell responded that Faruqi and her colleagues were 'making hay' out of the tragic situation.[37] Faruqi later stated it was "disgraceful" and "despicable" of Farrell to frame the Greens' calls for a ceasefire as a "political play".[38][39]
Key published works
Harding, R, Hendriks, CM, and Faruqi, M. (2009). Environmental Decision-Making - Exploring complexity and context, Federation Press, Sydney. ISBN9781862877481
Faruqi, M. (2012). 'Embracing Complexity To Enable Change', in: D. Rigling Gallagher; N. Christiansen and P. Andrews; eds, Environmental Leadership: A Reference Handbook, Vol. 2, pp. 772–781, Sage, Thousand Oaks, California. ISBN9781412981514
Faruqi, Mehreen (2021). Too Migrant, Too Muslim, Too Loud. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN978-1-76087-818-4.
Awards
Judy Raper Award for Leadership in Engineering, UNSW School of Chemical Engineering (2013).[40]
Edna Ryan Grand Stirrer Award (2017) for her tireless work on the Abortion Law Reform campaign, for "inciting others to challenge the status quo"[41]
