In her maiden speech to Parliament, Independent MP Dai Le recounted her journey of fleeing Vietnam, expressed gratitude for Australian values, and criticised pandemic lockdowns while urging the government to unlock the potential of the country’s large migrant workforce.
The Vietnamese-born MP managed to defeat high-profile candidate Kristina Keneally in the traditionally safe Labor Party seat of Fowler, a Western Sydney electorate made up primarily of migrants, refugees, and low to middle-income families.
Wearing an áo dài—a traditional Vietnamese dress—emblazoned with the Australian flag, Le said she wanted to “combine both worlds, the two worlds I constantly straddle.”…