Story by Benjamin Law • Yesterday 3:30 pm
Each week, Benjamin Law asks public figures to discuss the subjects we’re told to keep private by getting them to roll a die. The numbers they land on are the topics they’re given. This week, he talks to Dai Le. The politician and businesswoman, 54, was 11 years old when she came to Australia as a refugee. Earlier this year, she was elected independent MP for Fowler, a Sydney seat that had been held by Labor since 1984.
![Dai Le: “People in the community were complaining about a car park. That’s how [my political career] started, over a car park.”](https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA14x4CN.img?w=768&h=512&m=6&x=323&y=93&s=143&d=143 "Dai Le: “People in the community were complaining about a car park. That’s how [my political career] started, over a car park.”")
DEATH
In 1975, as a seven-year-old, you fled Vietnam by boat with your mum and two younger sisters.
What do you remember? The whole journey. Running out of the house because we were told, “You gotta run”; scrambling; being pushed by – it felt like thousands, but I’m sure it was a few hundred – people towards this boat. People screaming and crying. We were taken to the Philippines. We ended up staying there for a couple of years. Then, in the middle of the night, about 36 people left on a smaller boat for god knows where.
You didn’t know where you were going? No idea.
Were you scared? I thought, “There’s no way we’re going to survive this.” I couldn’t swim and thought we were going to die.
You survived, obviously, but what legacy does that type of near-death experience have? It taught me to be very grateful. The next [life or death situation] for me was being diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2014.
What was the hardest part of that? Telling my then 11-year-old son.
How do you begin to have that conversation? ”Mum has cancer.” I just had to say it. I remember him going … [sharp intake of breath] … and I said, “I’m gonna be fine; I’m going to survive this.” In my head, I’m going, “You better survive this!” But he was very mature. I’m now seven years in remission.
MONEY
After three years in the Philippines, you went to another refugee camp in Hong Kong before coming to Australia at the age of 11. What was money like? Once we got here, we had nothing. Eventually, the Catholic Church found a place for us to live at Fairy Meadow [near Wollongong]. My mother got a job as a house-cleaner and I’d help her on weekends.
As an adult, you worked as a journalist for a local newspaper in Sydney’s south-west. By accident.
How? I was having a coffee with a local journalist my sister knew. He goes, “What are you doing at the moment? The Liverpool Champion is looking for an ethnic cadet journalist.” I said, “What do you mean by ‘ethnic’?” He goes, “You’re an ethnic.” So I put in an application. I worked there for three-and-a-half years before I pushed my way into the ABC.
Then you later switched to politics. By accident.
Again? How do you accidentally fall into politics? It was 2008 and I was shopping with my husband. People were complaining about a car park and the member for Cabramatta had resigned because of her health. As we’re driving back, my husband goes, “Why don’t you do something about that car park – for the community?” That’s how it started, over a car park.
How much do you get paid as a federal MP now? Parliamentarians get paid about $200,000. [The base salary for a federal MP or senator in 2022 is $217,060.]
Do you think it’s commensurate with the work you do? You are constantly in meetings. Every night this week, I’ve got events. It’s seven days a week. You’re asked to make decisions on important things and weigh up what’s in the best interests of your community while taking into consideration the country, too. From my perspective, it is commensurate.
What do you think Australia spends too little on? Health and education.
What do you personally like spending money on? Oh, my god – food!
POLITICS
You won Fowler against Labor’s Kristina Keneally. The ALP had a 14 per cent margin and you achieved a 16 per cent swing. Were you surprised that you won? Yes, of course. You want to win, but there’s always a little voice saying “it’s a big margin”.
When Kristina Keneally was announced as the ALP candidate, she was touted by Anthony Albanese as “a migrant success story”. What was your reaction? Disbelief. For me, a migrant is somebody whose second language is English. To have [Keneally] described as a migrant …
It’s technically correct, though. Technically correct. But she’s an American who married an Australian and decided to migrate here.
It’s customary for challengers to share a phone call once the results are announced. What was your conversation with Keneally like? She didn’t call. I didn’t make much of it because I didn’t know the process. But somebody messaged me and said, “Even Josh Frydenberg – the treasurer – called Monique Ryan.”
You used to be a member of the Liberal Party. In 2016, it suspended your membership for running on an independent ticket for mayor against the party’s endorsed candidate. Are Liberals in federal parliament warm towards you or sceptical? It’s only a few months in. I haven’t seen any tension.
For your maiden speech, you wore a traditional Vietnamese áo dài made from the Australian flag. What was the story behind it? I said to this woman in Fairfield, who I often go to for traditional dress, “I want to wear the Australian flag.” She goes, “Oh, I’ve [already] made this, but no one has worn it yet!” She showed it to me, and I said, “Oh, my god, fantastic!” So I got to combine both Australian and Vietnamese cultures. I wanted to celebrate.
diceytopics@goodweekend.com.au
To read more from Good Weekend magazine, visit our page at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Brisbane Times.
___________________
No comments:
Post a Comment