New MP Anoulack Chanthivong thanked a lot of people in his maiden speech, but most of all his parents, who migrated to Australia from Laos without any money and worked hard so their four children could have a better future.
The Member for Macquarie Fields, who was elected on March 28, made his impressive inaugural speech in the presence of his parents, Bounmy and Somboun, other family and friends, as well as his predecessors in Macquarie Fields, Craig Knowles and Doctor Andrew McDonald.
“My parents, Bounmy and Somboun, who are seated in the gallery, started our family’s journey in Laos, a country where instability and conflict had caused them and other people they knew to leave their country of birth,’’ the new MP told parliament.
“It was an unstable environment, not of their own making but one which caused them to seek refuge in another country and to find a different future from the one that was unfolding before them.
“In making their journey they left behind their families, their friends, and the very little that they owned for an unknown destination and an unknown future.
“They had nothing of monetary value and they carried nothing of material worth, but they had the most important and valuable possession that mattered most, not just to them but to all of us—they carried with them hope.
“It was all that they had, but it was all that they needed.
“Upon arriving in Australia with their four young sons, including me, the second youngest, they encountered many obstacles and felt many fears. They were in a land they did not know.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“They had to learn a language they could not speak. They saw signs they could not read, and they heard conversations they did not understand.[/social_quote]
“They may have started cleaning dishes in restaurants and moved onto the factory floor, assembling glass, plastic and aluminium products, but they had high hopes for their family and for their sons because they believed in something special about this new place.
“They believed in the Australian idea. This idea promoted equal access to opportunity, to choice and to fairness that would be available to all those who seek it and not be denied to anyone who required it,’’ Mr Chanthivong said.
The MP, who was six years of age when he arrived in Australia with his family, also had a few things to say on progress and how it is measured in public life:
“It is my view that we strive to measure our public progress through the tone of our parliamentary debates, the depth of our public discourse, the role of science, statistics, reason and rationale in policy making and, for me personally, measuring whether there is just enough space on the ballot paper and whether there is one more seat in our democratic institution for a skinny kid with two long, funny names, who had to learn English as a six-year-old to one day represent his community in our Parliament.’’
Mr Chanthivong said that politicians of all hues needed to raise their game if they wanted to regain the respect of the people.
“At times we fail to live up to our communities’ expectations,’’ he said.
“A number of residents spoke to me about what they think of politicians of all parties. It was not positive.
“A softly spoken and well-informed gentleman spoke to me as he made his way from the polling booth at the Robert Townson Public School. He and his son had just voted informal because they were disenchanted by the negativity, personal attacks and substandard debate.
“His feelings though, I suspect, are reflective of many who have felt disappointed when they see personality power plays put in front of public debate and political partisanship put ahead of the public interest.
[social_quote duplicate=”no align=”default”]“We need to do everything we can to raise the standard of our parliamentary debates and public discussion to meet our people’s expectations.[/social_quote]
“Consideration should be given to changing the rules of parliamentary debate, question time and parliamentary schedules, perhaps along the lines of the British model to encourage reasoned debate rather than sloganeering, showmanship and rehearsed lines.’’
Local issues were also raised by Mr Chanthivong in his speech:
“It is unacceptable to me that in modern NSW in 2015 Macquarie Fields railway station does not have an easy access lift and is a station where some trains do not stop,’’ he said.
“There are too many stories of mums with prams and bags, silently struggling to get up and down the stairs or of pensioners stopping multiple times to take a rest, just to get to the other side of the station. This is not good enough for the people of Macquarie Fields,’’ he said.
