Mark Wales may not be a stranger to many Australians. A former Special Air Services (SAS) soldier who served in Afghanistan, he later won the reality show Australian Survivor in 2022. Recently, he won Liberal preselection for the federal seat of Tangney in Perth.
This victory isn’t surprising, given he projects an aura of self-confidence and daring. However, despite his promising candidacy, his preselection is already stirring controversy.
The incumbent for Tangney is Sam Lim, a Malaysian-born former police officer of Chinese heritage. In the 2022 federal election, Labor received swings — largely courtesy of the Liberals’ anti-China rhetoric — in Tangney in Perth, Chisholm in Melbourne, Reid in Sydney and Bennelong in northern Sydney, all electorates with large percentages of voters with Chinese heritage.
A migrant and former dolphin trainer fluent in 10 languages, Lim has a modest demeanour that starkly contrasts with Wales.
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