Independent member for Fowler Dai Le says many people in her electorate, one of Sydney's most culturally diverse, are unfamiliar with how Australia's political system works.
Zero, there's no political literacy.Dai Le, federal member for Fowler
She told SBS Examines the major parties try to appeal to migrant communities, but don't focus on migrant perspectives.
"They use migrants' votes, which is different to taking into account migrant needs and issues," she said.
"Hopefully this will change. It will be interesting to see how this upcoming election will change all of that, because there are more independents. [I'm] hoping that's going to shift the dial a little bit."
Associate Professor Sukhmani Khorana, from the University of New South Wales, has researched political literacy and participation in Australia's rapidly growing Chinese and South Asian communities.
She said these communities are swinging voters — voting on issues, rather than a traditional allegiance to a party.
"It does shift around from Labor to Liberal, depending on what is happening in that particular election campaign," she said.
This episode of Who's Right? Who's Left? looks at how migrant communities approach politics in Australia.
