“Come on! Come on!” they cry from across the street, followed by an outburst of Vietnamese.
As her new federal member walks through the Cabramatta mall in a pink dress, people run to shake her hand and hug her. At Gough Whitlam Place, Dai Le is attacked by fans and poses for photos.
After a dull election, the electorate feels, well, alive.
There is surprise and surprise that a seven-year-old girl who fled Vietnam by boat is heading to Canberra to represent them. Who would have thought?
“We’re the little people,” one man said. “But this time we raised our voices.”
“Kristina Keneally is sorry!” added a fluro merchant.
Cabramatta was once the home of former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. (ABC News: Jason Om)
It’s all a wild dream, according to Ms Le, who spoke at 7.30am the day after Labor candidate Kristina Keneally’s parachute candidate acknowledged defeat.
On Saturday night, as the results reached the Fowler booths in south-west Sydney, the pleasant surprise of the veteran local councilor turned to surprise and disbelief.
Fowler’s very secure Labor seat had not changed hands since its inception in 1984, and had been occupied by retired incumbent Chris Hayes by a 14 per cent margin. Ms. Le narrowly won, but enjoyed a 16 percent swing toward her. A political miracle.
“I sat there in my living room and literally looked back on that moment when I was on a boat in the middle of the ocean with my mom and two little sisters and I remember how scary that moment was for me. because we thought we were going to die, “he said.
If the 2022 election tried to turn the major parties around, the result to Fowler says a lot.
Questions about the multicultural legacy of work
Kristina Keneally was parachuted into the safe working seat as a Labor candidate. (ABC News: Jason Om)
Gough Whitlam is known as the father of multiculturalism and used to live in Cabramatta. There is a monument to his legacy in the heart of the mall. It is located in front of a cafe where the old people gather around the tables to play traditional games.
So how have both the Labor Party, the so-called multicultural party and the working class, the Fowler people, been wrong?
Some blame Labor’s headquarters on Sussex Street, but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese did his part in supporting Kristina Keneally over young lawyer Tu Le.
Mrs Keneally would have lost her seat in the Senate if she had stayed there and needed a secure work seat to return to parliament.
Election news:
Albanese described Mrs Keneally, a white woman of American descent from the northern beaches, who did not grow up in south-west Sydney as a great migrant success story.
Mrs. Keneally was not available for an interview.
“Fowler is proving that people will see through cynical ploys,” said Per Capita research member and Labor member Osmond Chiu at 7.30am.
“They don’t want to be taken for granted, and when they feel like you’re taking them for granted, they’re more than willing to punish you.”
Keneally’s decision sparked outcry among some Labor MPs at the time, but the rise in cultural diversity among Labor ranks in this parliament is likely to offset anger.
Either way, the end result is the first Vietnamese Australian to enter the federal parliament, but not on the Labor side.
“I’m not a truffle,” says Dai Le
Fowler locals congratulate and ask for photos with Dai Le. (ABC News: Jason Om)
If the blue seats turned blue this blue election, then Dai Le’s Fowler went from red to pink. Politics is a bit the same, the shadow is a little different.
The disparity between Fowler and the rich green-green electorate in Sydney and Melbourne is strong.
In Fowler, the majority of voters are workers and traders, administrative and administrative workers, machinery operators and drivers, and community service workers.
According to the 2016 census, 60% were born abroad while more than 80% have parents born abroad. The Vietnamese are the main ascendant.
The rise of pro-independence activists in Australia is as uneven as our country.
Dai Le is quick to say she’s not a blue-green though she’s happy to sit down and “have a cup of tea” with them.
It remains to be seen how he votes in parliament.
When asked at 7.30am how she would vote on climate change, Mrs Le seemed to echo Scott Morrison, who said at 7.30am last week that some parts of the country were more isolated on these issues.
“The independents of the green are very rich,” Ms. Le said. “They have other things to worry about. As for my electorate, we really have to worry about eating at the table.
“The issue of climate change, the federal issue of the ICAC, I mean, it’s important to us, but to me it’s our health care system.
“For me, the priority would be how to make sure there are affordable, affordable electricity prices.”
As she embarks on a life in the Canberra bubble, Mrs Le promises to be the same and genuine, and on the streets of Fowler, voters are proud that one of her own is in parliament.
“Menzies, years ago, talked about forgotten people,” said Than Nguyen, a former leader of the Vietnamese community.
“We are the real forgotten people.”
Warn politicians. If you forget the voters, they will remember you.
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