Australian politician Charlotte Walker has made history by becoming the country’s youngest female senator, at the age of only 21.A member of the ruling Labor Party, Walker was officially confirmed as senator this week. The win came as a surprise as she was the third-ranked candidate from her party — and usually, only the top one or two candidates have a chance of getting elected.Walker’s win was due to Australia’s preferential voting system, which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. Through this system, she managed to get enough support to secure a seat.The Labor member received the fewest votes among the six successful Senate candidates from her state, South Australia. The polls were officially declared by the Australian Electoral Commission on May 27.She is set to start her six-year term in July and admits the new job will be a “big adjustment” for her.Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Walker said, “There’s a few feelings. Obviously, there’s a lot of pressure.”Expressing both excitement and new responsibilities, Walker added, “I want to do a good job for South Australians, but I also want to show young people, particularly young women, that this is achievable and this is something that they can do also. I’m also really excited. Not many people my age get to … go to Canberra and have the ability to contribute in the way that I will.”
Previous youngest lawmakers:
Before Walker, Jordon Steele-John from the Green Party was the youngest senator. He was elected for Western Australia state in 2017 at the age of 23.However, Australia’s youngest-ever federal lawmaker was Wyatt Roy, who was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 at the age of 20. He lasted two terms of three years each before he was voted out of his Queensland state seat.
