Dave Sharma
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Devanand Noel "Dave" Sharma (born 21 December 1975) is an Australian politician and former public servant and diplomat who has served as
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
for New South Wales since November 2023. Prior to that, he served as the member for Wentworth in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
from
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
to
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, when he lost the seat to independent challenger
Allegra Spender Allegra Spender (born 10 March 1978) is an Australian politician and businesswoman. She is currently the member of parliament for Wentworth, having originally won the seat at the 2022 Australian federal election. She is one of a number of cen ...
. He is a member of the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
. He previously served as head of the International Division of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (2010–2012)Direct download
(Word 2003)
and as Ambassador to Israel (2013–2017). His appointment to the latter post, at the age of 37, made him one of Australia's youngest ambassadors and the second Australian ambassador of Indian heritage.


Early life and education

Sharma was born in
Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
in 1975. His father is a
Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The population of Trinidad is notably diverse, with approximately 35% Indo-Trinidadian, 34% ...
of
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
n heritage and his mother was from Sydney. His family moved to
Turramurra Turramurra is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. It shares the post ...
in Sydney, in 1979. Sharma's mother died of breast cancer, and he was raised by his father. Sharma attended secondary school at
Turramurra High School Turramurra High School is a large public comprehensive co-educational high school of approximately 1177 students, operated by the New South Wales Department of Education, located in South Turramurra, a residential area on the Upper North Shore o ...
in Sydney. He matriculated in 1993 with the highest possible
Tertiary Entrance Rank The Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) was a tertiary entrance score used in several Australian states, the ACT and the Northern Territory as a tool for selection to universities in Australia. As of 2010, it has been replaced by the Australian Tertiar ...
of 100. Sharma studied a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
at
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
between 1994 and 1997. He initially studied
natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...
s but transferred to law in 1995 (his second year) and graduated in law with
first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...
. He then returned to Sydney and studied medicine at
Sydney Medical School The University of Sydney School of Medicine, also known as Sydney Medical School (SMS) is the graduate medical school of the University of Sydney. Established in 1856, it is the first medical school in Australia. In 2018, Sydney Medical School j ...
, the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
. Following a year of studying medicine, he began working as a
public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
for the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian government responsible for foreign policy and international relations, development aid (under the name Australian Aid), consular services, overseas trad ...
and completed a master's degree in
International Relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
through
Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...
. Sharma was one of seven Liberal MPs in the
46th Parliament of Australia The 46th Parliament of Australia was a meeting of the legislative branch of the Australian federal government, composed of the Australian Senate and the Australian House of Representatives. The 2019 federal election gave the Coalition of the ...
who have obtained degrees at an
Oxbridge Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford, Universities of Oxford and University of Cambridge, Cambridge, the two oldest, wealthiest, and most prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. The term is used to refer to them collect ...
or
Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...
university, the others being
Alan Tudge Alan Tudge (born 24 February 1971) is an Australian former politician. He was a Liberal Party member of the House of Representatives between 2010 and 2023. He was a cabinet minister in the Morrison government from 2019 to 2022. Tudge grew up ...
, Angus Taylor,
Andrew Laming Andrew Charles Laming (born 30 September 1966) is an Australian medical doctor and former politician. He was a Liberal Party member of the House of Representatives representing the Division of Bowman for the Liberal National Party of Queensland ...
,
Josh Frydenberg Joshua Anthony Frydenberg (; born 17 July 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He also served as a member of parliament (MP) for the divisi ...
,
Greg Hunt Gregory Andrew Hunt (born 18 November 1965) is an Australian former politician who was the Minister for Health between January 2017 and May 2022. He was a Liberal Party member of the House of Representatives between November 2001 and 2022, repr ...
and Paul Fletcher.


Career


Public sector

Sharma began working for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 1999 and held posts both in Australia and overseas. From 2004 to 2006 he served as the legal adviser to Foreign Affairs Minister
Alexander Downer Alexander John Gosse Downer (born 9 September 1951) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who was leader of the Liberal Party from 1994 to 1995, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 2007, and High Commissioner to the United Ki ...
and was then appointed to the Australian Embassy in Washington from 2006 until 2009. Sharma held appointments at the Australian High Commission to
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
in
Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
, and as a senior civilian adviser with the
Peace Monitoring Group The Peace Monitoring Group (PMG) on Bougainville in Papua New Guinea was brought about by the civil unrest on the island in 1989. The PNG government requested the Australian and New Zealand governments to provide a monitoring group to oversee the ...
on Bougainville. From 2010 to 2012 Sharma was the head of the International Division in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. He advised the Prime Minister
Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...
during G-20 summits (including as the Prime Minister's
sous-sherpa The term Sous-Sherpa translates as “under Sherpa.” Sherpas are the Nepalese porters that help climbers in the Himalayas. Experts say when used in the context of the G8 or G20 summit the term “Sous-Sherpa” most likely refers to the hefty w ...
) and East Asia summits and was involved in international diplomatic events which occurred in Australia including the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a wiktionary:biennial, biennial summit meeting of the List of current heads of state and government, governmental leaders from all Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. ...
in October 2011 and during US President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
's
visit Visit refer as go to see and spend time with socially. Visit may refer to: *State visit, a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country *Conjugal visit, in which a prisoner is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visit ...
to Australia in November 2011. Sharma served as the Assistant Secretary, responsible for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's Africa Branch between 2012 and 2013. In November 2012, Sharma led a visit to
Abuja, Nigeria Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...
and participated in talks with the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Security Adviser as well as with officials from the
Economic Community of West African States The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; also known as CEDEAO in French and Portuguese) is a regional political and economic union of twelve countries of West Africa. Collectively, the present and former members comprise an area ...
. Sharma was appointed the ambassador to Israel by the
Minister for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...
,
Bob Carr Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the New South Wales Labor Party, New South Wales branch of the A ...
, on 16 May 2013 replacing Andrea Faulkner. Sharma presented his credentials to
Israeli President The president of the State of Israel (, or ) is the head of state of Israel. The president is mostly, though not entirely, ceremonial; actual executive power is vested in the cabinet led by the prime minister. The incumbent president is Is ...
Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
on 8 August 2013. While in Israel, Sharma and his wife Rachel visited casualties of the Syrian civil war in the Ziv Medical Center in Zefat. This visit made him the first international representative to visit casualties of the war. In May 2014, Sharma caused a diplomatic incident by meeting with the Israeli Housing and Construction Minister, Uri Ariel, in Israeli government offices located in occupied East Jerusalem, resulting in a formal complaint from the chief Palestinian UN negotiator to
Julie Bishop Julie Isabel Bishop (born 17 July 1956) is an Australian former politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs (Australia), Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018 and Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia#Federal deputy leader ...
, the then Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, that the meeting may be deemed as "aiding and abetting … illegal Israeli policies". Australia rejected these complaints, saying the meeting did not alter its position regarding the status of Jerusalem and the need to resolve this through direct negotiations. In April 2017, Julie Bishop announced that Chris Cannan would succeed Sharma as Ambassador to Israel in mid-2017. Cannan began his appointment as ambassador on 19 June 2017.


Private sector

Sharma was chairman of Shekel Brainweigh Ltd, an Israeli technology company. He was reported to be helping a number of other Israeli technology companies to enter the Australian market.


Federal politics


2018 Wentworth by-election

Following the August 2018 resignation of former prime minister
Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party an ...
, Sharma was selected as the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
candidate for the resulting Wentworth by-election, defeating Prime Minister Scott Morrison's preferred candidate. Sharma contested the Wentworth by-election against a field of 15 other candidates with
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
candidate
Kerryn Phelps Kerryn Lyndel Phelps (born 14 December 1957) is an Australian medical practitioner, public health and civil rights advocate, medical educator and former politician. She was the first woman and first openly LGBT person to be elected president o ...
, a former City of Sydney Councillor and AMA President, widely regarded as Sharma's most serious competitor. Phelps would go on to win the Wentworth by-election with 51.22% of the TCP vote, defeating Sharma after favourable preference flows.


2019 election

Sharma was again pre-selected to run as the Liberal candidate for Wentworth at the
2019 Australian federal election The 2019 Australian federal election was held on Saturday, 18 May 2019, to elect members of the 46th Parliament of Australia. The election had been called following the dissolution of the 45th Parliament as elected at the 2016 double dissol ...
, and was successful in winning the seat from Phelps with 51.31% of the TCP vote. Sharma is a member of the Moderate/Modern Liberal faction of the Liberal Party. On 10 February 2020, Sharma moved a bipartisan motion in the House of Representatives with Labor MP
Josh Burns Josh Burns (born May 15, 1978) is an Americans, American professional bare-knuckle boxer and former mixed martial artist. Since 2022, he has competed for BYB Extreme Fighting Series, BYB Extreme. Burns currently competes for Bare Knuckle Fightin ...
calling for the immediate extradition of alleged pedophile Malka Leifer from Israel, having developed an interest in the case during his term as Australia's ambassador to Israel. Australia had first issued an extradition request in 2014 after Leifer had fled to Israel in 2008 following allegations that she had raped and abused students while serving as Principal of the orthodox Adass Israel School. Leifer's legal representatives argued that she was medically unfit to travel thereby delaying the extradition process for many years however in September 2020 the
Supreme Court of Israel The Supreme Court of Israel (, Hebrew acronym Bagatz; ) is the Supreme court, highest court in Israel. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all other courts, and in some cases original jurisdiction. The Supreme Court consists of 15 jud ...
ruled that Leifer was fit to stand trial. Leifer was extradited to Australia on 25 January 2021. On
International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...
2021, Sharma was criticised for handing out flowers to women while the
Morrison government The Morrison government was the Australian Government, federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister of Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia, between 2018 and 2022. The Morrison governmen ...
faced ongoing scrutiny over how it had handled allegations of rape and sexual misconduct by government ministers and staffers. The gesture was seen by some as "failing to read the room", and was held up as evidence of the government being out of touch on women's rights issues. Sharma was criticised for allegations of
insider trading Insider trading is the trading of a public company's stock or other securities (such as bonds or stock options) based on material, nonpublic information about the company. In various countries, some kinds of trading based on insider informati ...
, where it is alleged he bought shares of
Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
before it was announced they would receive a rescue package and also for purchasing shares of CSL before they were awarded the tender for production of the
AstraZeneca AstraZeneca plc () (AZ) is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, UK. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includi ...
Covid 19 Vaccine. On 26 October 2021, Prime Minister Morrison announced that the Australian Government would commit to a
net-zero emissions Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...
target by 2050, effectively ending a decade long political impasse on the issue. In the months leading up to this announcement, Sharma made several media appearances making the case for Australia to adopt a net-zero target. Sharma was named in media reports as one of several moderates within the Liberal Party agitating for the Government to commit to a such target by 2050. Although he didn't want to be the casting vote, Sharma
crossed the floor In some parliamentary systems (e.g., in Canada and the United Kingdom), politicians are said to cross the floor if they formally change their political affiliation to a political party different from the one they were initially elected under. I ...
on 10 February 2022 to vote to include protection for transgender students in the government's modifications to the Sex Discrimination Act after three other Liberal MPs had already committed to rebelling, guaranteeing the amendment's success.


2022 election

At the 2022 federal election Sharma faced an independent challenge from businesswoman
Allegra Spender Allegra Spender (born 10 March 1978) is an Australian politician and businesswoman. She is currently the member of parliament for Wentworth, having originally won the seat at the 2022 Australian federal election. She is one of a number of cen ...
, who is part of a noteworthy family of politicians, and part of a broader movement of
teal independents Teal independents, also known as teals and community independents, are various centrist, independent or non-party politicians in Australian politics who have been grouped together for convenience of discussion by the Australian media and who ha ...
during this election. During the campaign Sharma dropped the Liberal party logo from his advertising and changed the colour scheme for some of his material from the traditional Liberal blue to teal, the colour being used by his opponent. Sharma lost the 2022 election to independent candidate Allegra Spender. Spender won decisively with 54% of the two-party preferred vote.


2023 Senate pre-selection

Sharma was selected by the Liberal Party to fill the vacancy in the Senate caused by the resignation of
Marise Payne Marise Ann Payne (born 29 July 1964) is an Australian politician who was a Senator for New South Wales from 1997 until 2023, representing the Liberal Party. She held senior ministerial office in Coalition governments between 2013 and 2022, inclu ...
. He was one of ten candidates to nominate for the position, beating out the likes of former
Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...
senator
Zed Seselja Zdenko Matthew "Zed" Seselja (; born 27 March 1977) is an Australian politician who was a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory from 2013 to 2022, representing the Liberal Party. He was the Minister for International Development and the ...
and former New South Wales state minister for transport
Andrew Constance Andrew James Constance (born 31 October 1973) is an Australian politician who represented Electoral district of Bega, Bega for the Liberal Party of Australia (New South Wales Division), Liberal Party in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly ...
, both of whom were endorsed by party leader
Peter Dutton Peter Craig Dutton (born 18 November 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as the Leader of the Opposition (Australia), Leader of the Opposition and the Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party from 2 ...
. He was appointed to the Senate in a joint sitting of the
New South Wales parliament The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wale ...
on 30 November 2023.


Views

Sharma advocates for Australia to do more to mitigate global
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
. He said the
Liberal–National Coalition The Liberal–National Coalition, commonly known simply as the Coalition or the LNP, is an alliance of centre-right to right-wing political parties that forms one of the two major groupings in Australian federal politics. Its two members ar ...
should have attempted to persuade
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
to have the United States rejoin the
Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...
and that it should push other countries to meet their targets under the agreement. In 2020, he opposed a government plan that would have provided federal funding to coal power plants. Sharma opposed electric car mandates that he felt were too totalitarian or communist. Sharma encourages Australia to engage in "political warfare," such as
disinformation Disinformation is misleading content deliberately spread to deceive people, or to secure economic or political gain and which may cause public harm. Disinformation is an orchestrated adversarial activity in which actors employ strategic dece ...
campaigns, voting interference, and gathering military intelligence, in countries that pose a threat to Australia. He used Israel's covert intelligence organisation as an example, although he opposes the assassinations Israel's covert operations are known for. He argues this form of statecraft is necessary due to similar efforts by other countries to interfere with Australia's elections and to spread propaganda in Australia. Sharma started advocating for these tactics after the US started targeting Russian politicians with negative campaigns in response to
Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections The Russian government conducted Foreign electoral intervention, foreign electoral interference in the 2016 United States elections with the goals of sabotaging the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign, presidential campaign of Hillar ...
. Sharma said Australia needs to invest more in its military. He argues the influence the US historically used to secure international peace is fading. He wants Australia to increase the 2% of GDP it spends on its military. ''The Financial Review'' described Sharma as a "realist" who believes in the inevitability of human conflict and the self-interested behaviour of nations. Sharma also wants Australia to secure more positions within UN agencies, as he says China and others have already done. He said COVID-19 travel bans were an excessive burden on personal liberties, and has argued for reform of the
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...
. Sharma wrote a paper for the
Australian Strategic Policy Institute The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) is a defence and strategic policy think tank based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, founded by the Australian government, and funded by the Australian Department of Defence along with o ...
encouraging the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian government responsible for foreign policy and international relations, development aid (under the name Australian Aid), consular services, overseas trad ...
to invest more in online diplomacy programs, saying their social media activity was largely canned posts. Sharma has also advocated for the demilitarisation of the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
, but said conflict is unlikely to end until
Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...
stops firing rockets over the border. Sharma supports gay marriage and has said the Religious Discrimination Bill cannot be at the expense of gay rights. In 2019, Sharma said an accused paedophile, Malka Leifer, was making fraudulent claims of mental health issues in the Israeli court system to delay extradition to Australia, and criticised Israel for its leniency. Sharma was involved in motions attempting to get her extradited to Australia.


Personal life

Sharma is married to Rachel Lord, a diplomat and lawyer at
Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
and
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. They have three daughters. In January 2020, former
Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...
MP
Melissa Parke Melissa Parke (born 11 August 1966) is a former Australian Labor Party politician and UN human rights lawyer, who served as Member for the federal electoral Division of Fremantle in the Australian House of Representatives from 2007 to 2016. In ...
sued Sharma for defamation over an April 2019 tweet in which he accused her of anti-semitism and "trafficking in conspiracy theories". He made the comment after she had withdrawn from the 2019 federal election when her comments about Israel and Palestine were publicized. In October 2020, the Federal Court dismissed Parke's defamation action against Sharma but ruled that Sharma's earlier settlement offer should take effect, where each party would have to pay their own costs. Following this, Sharma reiterated his comment on Parke, and stated that it was "a victory for free speech".


External links


Official website

Australian Parliament House Biography and Voting Record


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharma, Dave Ambassadors of Australia to Israel Alumni of the University of Cambridge Sydney Medical School alumni Deakin University alumni 1975 births Living people Canadian emigrants to Australia Australian people of Indian descent Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Wentworth Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for New South Wales Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Australian people of Trinidad and Tobago descent Australian politicians of Asian descent Australian politicians of Indian descent Australian MPs 2019–2022