A man who crossed the Mekong River as a child fleeing conflict in Laos now serves as one of the most senior Lao-born politicians in Australian history, holding five ministerial portfolios in the New South Wales (NSW) government.
Anoulack Chanthivong, a minister in the NSW cabinet under Premier Chris Minns since 2023, was born in Laos and arrived in Australia at around age six after his family fled in the early 1980s. They crossed into Thailand and spent time in a refugee camp before being resettled in Sydney.
The family then settled in western Sydney, where his parents took on manual work despite language barriers.
Anoulack grew up in Cabramatta, studied economics at the University of Sydney, and later completed further studies at the London School of Economics. He worked as an economist for more than a decade before entering politics, joining the Labor Party shortly after finishing high school and winning a local council seat in 2004.
He was later elected to represent Macquarie Fields in the NSW Parliament and has since been re-elected multiple times.
Following the 2023 state election, he was appointed to cabinet with responsibility for industry and trade, innovation, science and technology, better regulation and fair trading, building, and corrections, portfolios that place him at the centre of economic and regulatory policy in Australia’s most populous state.
His rise from refugee resettlement to senior minister has drawn attention both in Australia and among the Lao diaspora, with his career widely seen as representing the broader experience of Lao families who left home in search of stability and opportunity.
