Dai Le likens Covid lockdowns in western Sydney to ‘communist dictatorship’ in first speech

New federal independent MP Dai Le compared the Covid lockdowns placed on her western Sydney electorate by the New South Wales Coalition government to actions of a “communist dictatorship”, saying her constituents were “forgotten people”.

Le also took a swipe at former senator Kristina Keneally, who she defeated at the May election to win the formerly safe Labor seat of Fowler.

“The people of Fowler wanted and needed a representative who came from their community and would never forget the personal challenges that they face every day,” Le told the House of Representatives in her first speech to parliament on Monday.

“Who have walked in our shoes, and have been through what we’ve been through. Not just at election time but every day.”

Le, a former Liberal party candidate and independent deputy mayor of Fairfield, told the parliament of her family’s arrival in Australia as refugees in 1979. They had fled Vietnam in 1975, when she was just seven years old, boarding wooden boats to the Philippines and then Hong Kong, before being accepted to resettle in Australia.

“I remember running with my mother and two younger sisters, scrambling to make our way on to a boat and pushing through the cries and screams of women,” Le said, at points becoming emotional while recounting her family history.

“I remember the moment when I thought we would die when a huge storm hit our boat.”

“I remember my sister and I hanging on to dear life, while my mother held my other sister tightly in her arms … I remember how my face almost hit the ocean as our boat rocked so hard from the storm.”

Le, wearing traditional Vietnamese dress, known as an áo dài, emblazoned with a design of the Australian flag, spoke of her “gratitude and freedom” at coming to Australia

“We were filled with hope as we looked out on to the horizon of endless possibilities,” she said.

“This migration story belongs to all of us. It’s our story, and we can all be proud to share it.”

Le linked her background to her success in winning the seat of Fowler, which had been held by Labor since it was created in 1984.

A submission to Labor’s election review from a group on cultural diversity warned that culturally diverse “communities in ultra-safe seats will no longer be taken for granted”. Le made similar points in her speech, claiming her community had been “neglected and abandoned by the major parties”.

“While it is a privilege to represent the people of Fowler, we are not a privileged people,” she said.

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“We are the forgotten people and yet we are the backbone of Australia.”

Pointing to Covid restrictions as an example, Le was critical that her western Sydney community was subjected to more harsh conditions by the state government than wealthier areas in the city’s eastern suburbs during the 2021 lockdowns.

“We weren’t allowed to travel beyond a 5km radius from our homes. We were told to get travel permits. We were forced to get tested every three days. We had helicopters flying around our area, as well as police on horseback and men in uniforms knocking on people’s doors,” she said.

“The last time I looked, a government that takes away individuals’ liberty to choose how they want to live, work and raise families was called a communist dictatorship, a political system that my family and I escaped from.”

Independent MP for Fowler, Dai Le, is congratulated after delivering her first speech in the House of Representatives on Monday. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Noting Fowler’s unemployment rate of nearly 10%, and low median incomes, Le also called on the government to do more to tap local residents to address Australia’s skills shortages. She suggested Covid vaccine mandates be further dropped to accommodate more workers, and said any increase in migration should be accompanied by boosts to public transport and housing.

“We have migrants and refugees with professional qualifications who are now working in underqualified occupations,” Le said.

“We must work to swiftly create pathways for recognition of their qualifications so that we can engage their skills in our community.”

Her speech was greeted by supporters in Parliament House’s public galleries clapping, shouting and chanting her name.