Sally Sitou’s parents will watch proudly from the public gallery as the Labor MP gives her first speech in parliament – something that is “surreal in the best way possible”.
Sally Sitou’s parents avoided talk of politics after fleeing Laos during the Vietnam War, but they will watch proudly from the public gallery as the new Labor MP gives her first speech in parliament on Tuesday.
Labor MP Sally Sitou will deliver her first speech to parliament with parents Phet and Syphan looking on.“As I look around our House of Representatives today, it feels like finally it is starting to live up to its name,” Sitou will say in her speech, seen by“A house made up of people who truly represent and reflect their communities.”
She will quote former prime minister Bob Hawke who said in parliament that Australia’s eventual bipartisan rejection of race as a factor in immigration policy was “a triumph of compassion over prejudice, of reason over fear, and of statesmanship over politics”. “They fled their homeland, fearful of what might happen to them because of who they were and the values they held. Even after arriving here, they continued to carry that fear, not wanting to talk about politics or share their views.”Loading
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