SYDNEY: The Hon. Maxine McKew MP met with Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC Australia) Executive Director, Varant Meguerditchian in the lead up to the 2010 Federal Election to address issues concerning the more than 4,000 Armenian-Australian voters of Bennelong.
McKew, who is the Federal Member for Australia's most densely Armenian-populated electorate, pledged that if elected, she would continue to raise awareness for recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
At the meeting, McKew also recommitted to the promise made to Armenian-Australians earlier this year, when on occasion of the 95th anniversary commemoration of the Armenian Genocide she had released a statement: "I would be happy to host future meetings in my Canberra office with like-minded politicians to further the cause of Armenian Genocide recognition in Australia."
McKew revealed that she intended to "be host to the Armenian Genocide discussion within a reasonable timeframe" and suggested that "the implementation of her initiative to garner support for recognition amongst legislators during the first six months after the election would be appropriate".
Meguerditchian recognised that after a period of a dialogue, ANC Australia has now established a working relationship with McKew.
He said: "Ms McKew demonstrated her support for the Armenian-Australian constituents of Bennelong by clearly acknowledging the historical reality of the Armenian Genocide in an address to the Federal Parliament of Australia in March."
"We are confident that if re-elected Ms McKew will continue to accurately represent the will of the Armenian-Australians of Bennelong and maintain her principled stance in opposition to Armenian Genocide denial."
McKew (ALP) and her key Bennelong challenger John Alexander (LIB) will feature heavily in the soon-to-be-released 'ANC Australia Guide to Federal Election 2010'.
