# Keith Wolahan

Keith Wolahan (born 30 September 1977) is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Liberal Party and has served in the House of Representatives since the 2022 federal election, representing the seat of Menzies. Prior to entering politics he was an Australian Army officer, serving three tours of Afghanistan as a commando officer, and also practiced as a commercial barrister for twelve years.

## Early life
### Family background

Wolahan was born in Dublin, Ireland, migrating to Australia with his parents and two brothers in 1988. He became an Australian citizen in 1993. He was educated at Ringwood Secondary College.

### Education and legal career

Wolahan studied at the University of Melbourne where he graduated with Bachelor degrees in Arts (Politics) and Commerce (Economics). He continued studying at Monash University, completing a Bachelor of Law (Honours). He was awarded the Sir Charles Lowe Moot Prize.
Wolahan began his career in law with the national firm, Mallesons Stephen Jacques where he specialised in mergers and acquisitions. In 2010 he became a barrister, specialising in commercial and consumer trials.
In 2013, Wolahan graduated from University of Cambridge with a master's degree in International Relations.

### Military service

Wolahan joined the military while on at University, eventually joining 2 Commando Company, 1st Commando Regiment. Wolahan was promoted to Captain in 2004 and saw several periods of active service, including four postings overseas with 2 Commando:
* East Timor 2007 for six months as the Special Operations Liaison Officer for the Apprehension Task Group during the Battle of Same.
* Afghanistan 2008 for six months as the Operations Officer with the Special Operations Task Group HQ in Kandahar.
* Afghanistan 2009–10 for six months as a Platoon Commander within the Special Operations Task Group HQ based in Tarinkot. Wolahan led intelligence-driven operations, and Joint Prioritized Effects List missions, sometimes commanding 80 troops.
* Afghanistan 2014 for four months embedded as the Deputy Chief of Operations with a United States Special Operations Command task force based in Bagram. Much of the work of this group involved targeted drone led operations.
Wolahan lost two friends in the War in Afghanistan: Marcus Case and Greg Sher. He joined two other Afghanistan veterans in the 47th Parliament of Australia: Andrew Hastie and Phillip Thompson.

## Political career
### Preselection

Wolahan defeated the sitting member Kevin Andrews in a preselection contest, 181 votes to 111. Andrews entered the contest with written endorsements from then Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison. It was the first time a sitting Victorian Liberal MP had been ousted by their members in more than 20 years.

### 2022 election

The 2022 federal election saw a 6% swing against the Liberals in Menzies. One of the contributing factors was a large swing in suburbs with higher proportions of Chinese ancestry, including Box Hill and Doncaster.

### 47th Parliament

Wolahan is a member of the House Economics and Joint Standing National Anti-Corruption Commission Committees.

## Views

Wolahan has rejected suggestions he is a member of the moderate or conservative factions of the Liberal Party. He has been reported to be aligned to a Centrist group in the party room, along with the majority of Victorian Liberals.

### Same-sex marriage

Wolahan stated that he voted "yes" in the 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite.

### Home ownership

Wolahan has cited plummeting home ownership rates amongst young Australians as one of his party's top political and societal challenges.

### Indigenous Voice to Parliament

In a speech given to the Samuel Griffith Society in 2017, Wolahan expressed his opposition to a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous Voice to Parliament, and called instead for "minimalist" reforms that "removes race from the Constitution". He criticised Australian banks donating heavily to the Yes23 campaign in October 2023.

### Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

When asked about his views on the war in Iraq, Wolahan said that, with the benefit of hindsight, the invasion by the United States-led coalition was a "mistake". In response to allegations of war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan, Wolahan has urged "truth telling over myth making."

### Protests in Iran

Wolahan has given several speeches in support of the protests that began in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, citing pride in his electorate having the largest Iranian diaspora in Australia.

### Robodebt

In a widely reported speech to parliament, Wolahan was highly critical of the scheme, noting: "As someone who's a Liberal and believes in the sanctity of the individual, due process and the presumption of innocence, it offended all of those, … it was illiberal, it reversed the onus, and it hurt people."

### China

In 2022 he said that the Liberal Party's disagreements "are with the Chinese regime, not the Chinese people" and that the Liberal Party needed to improve it's grassroots multicultural engagement.

## Personal life

Wolahan is married to his wife Sarah and has two children, Leo and Eva. He and Sarah were married at Heide Museum of Modern Art in Bulleen.

## Honours and awards

| Commendation for Distinguished Service | Awarded in 2011 Australia Day Honours for service in Afghanistan. |
| Australian Active Service Medal | With clasp for East Timor |
| Afghanistan Medal | Operation SLIPPER |
| Australian Service Medal | With clasp for CT/SR (Counter Terrorism / Special Recovery) |
| Australian Defence Medal | |
| NATO Medal for the Non-Article 5 ISAF Operation in Afghanistan | With clasp ISAF |
| Meritorious Unit Citation with Federation Star | Awarded to Task Force 66 in the 2015 Australia Day Honours |
| Infantry Combat Badge | |
| Timor Leste Solidarity Medal | (East Timor) |