Melbourne: Indian-origin politician Daniel Mookhey took oath on the holy Bhagavad Gita as he was sworn in as the Treasurer of Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) state by Governor Margaret Beazley in Sydney.

Mookhey was sworn in on March 28, 2023, along with NSW Premier Chris Minns and six other ministers. “Sworn in as Treasurer of the great state of NSW. Thank you to the people of NSW who entrusted us with this honour and privilege,” Mookhey said in a statement.

“I am incredibly honoured and humbled to be the first Australian Minister, state or federally, to take my oath of allegiance on the Bhagavad Gita. This is only possible because Australia is so open and so welcoming to the contributions of people like my parents, who I was thinking about a lot as I took my oath earlier today,” he said.

In 2015, Mookhey was elected by the Labor to replace Steve Whan in the NSW upper house -- making him the state’s first politician of Indian background, and the first to take oath of allegiance on the Bhagavad Gita.

In 2019, he became the Shadow Minister for Finance and Small Business and Shadow Minister for the Gig Economy. “This is a time to relax and enjoy before the period of really, really hard work starts again,” Governor Beazley said addressing the ministers.

Mookhey’s parents had migrated from Punjab to Australia in 1973. Born in Blacktown suburb, Mookhey has three university degrees and has worked as a consultant to unions, charities and community groups.