A young Vietnamese-Australian lawyer has blasted the Labor Party for crushing her dreams to become a federal MP representing her local community – as she reveals her challenging upbringing in Sydney’s south-west.
Tu Le looked set to represent the Labor stronghold of Fowler in the city’s west until frontbencher Kristina Keneally declared she wanted the seat for herself – even though she lives 44km away on an island on the wealthy Northern Beaches.
Senator Keneally will be approved as the candidate by the National Executive this week, meaning 30-year-old Ms Le will have to wait a little longer to become a politician and may have to consider running for the state parliament instead.
In a long and moving Facebook post on Monday morning, the migration lawyer – who was raised in poverty in south-west Sydney by Vietnamese immigrant parents – slammed Labor for overlooking her and called for greater ethnic diversity in parliament.
Tu Le (pictured with Fowler MP Chris Hayes) looked set to represent the Labor stronghold of Fowler but her chance was taken away by former NSW premier, Kristina Keneally
She also attacked local community groups who had come out in support of Senator Keneally after it became clear the shadow home affairs minister would win pre-selection.
‘I’m calling this out because it is downright WRONG for our leaders to use their positions of power for their own personal gains,’ Ms Le wrote.
‘Whether it’s in the highest offices of this country or at the community level, we should NEVER accept this behaviour from those who represent us.’
Ms Le said she doesn’t ‘hold it against’ those who did not support her and quoted the Buddha, saying: ”Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die”.’
She attacked Labor for relying on ‘superficial connections to our diverse communities’ and said the party needs more diversity among its politicians.
‘Some politicians only come to our festivals and events (especially before an election) for photo-ops, while ”wearing a sari and eating some Kung Pao chicken to make themselves look good”, she said, quoting Labor MP Ann Aly who had supported her.
‘It feels like they seek our support only when looking for fundraising and membership opportunities. It’s 2021, and this is no longer acceptable.
‘DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION is not a tick the box exercise.
Kristina Keneally (pictured with husband Ben at the Parliament House Mid Winter Ball in 2019) has confirmed she will run in a culturally diverse safe Labor seat in western Sydney
‘Our parents and grandparents may have come to this lucky country, put their heads down, worked hard and tried to blend in.
‘But our generation has grown up in this sunburnt country. The values of equal opportunity and a fair go were instilled in us through our education.
‘We weren’t made to blend in, we were taught to stand OUT and stand UP for what we believe in,’ she added.
Ms Le, whose parents came to Australia for a better life after the Vietnam War, said she ‘never expected a free ticket to Parliament’ but complained she was ‘collateral damage’ to an internal struggle which made it unlikely Senator Keneally would retain her senate spot.
‘That’s just the nature of politics and I hold no personal grudges,’ she wrote.
‘But I know a lot of young people, especially those in my community who usually couldn’t care less about politics, are enraged by what has happened.
‘You have probably felt agitated before but weren’t sure what to do about it.
‘My message to you is: use your anger as a call to action. If you feel you can no longer sit back, drop me a line. If we keep sitting back and staying quiet, that’s on us.
‘Together, we will use this spark to create a wildfire.’
Lawyer Tu Le, 30, had hoped to represent her community in Parliament but Senator Keneally will be selected instead
In a previous social media post, Ms Le described her challenging upbringing in south-west Sydney.
‘For the better part of my life, I felt ashamed about living in a flat, not knowing what it was like to have a white picket fence and backyard with a hills hoist,’ she wrote.
‘I recall feeling confused that I could get extra UAI points for my HSC because I came from a disadvantaged public school. I don’t ever recall feeling disadvantaged because of who I was or where I lived.
For far too long, political parties have relied on superficial connections to our diverse communities
‘Not until I left my bubble and started university. That’s when I truly understood my parents’ pressure to succeed at school.
‘Education was my ticket to freedom. Freedom from poverty, freedom of opportunity. I could be who I wanted to be and give back to the country that gave us so much when we left everything behind us in Vietnam.
‘Naturally, I became a lawyer. I wasn’t a fan of blood,’ she said, explaining why becoming a doctor was not an option.
Alongside her job helping exploited migrants as Program Director at Migrant Employment Legal Service, Ms Le is a youth leader at the Vietnamese Buddhist Youth Association.
Retiring Fowler MP Chris Hayes had backed Ms Le to take over, calling her the ‘appropriate choice’, but his preference has been ignored.
Due to a history of branch-stacking in the seat, locals are not allowed to pre-select candidates who are instead chosen directly by the NSW Labor right faction.
Senator Keneally was set to lose her place in the senate because fellow right faction member Deborah O’Neill received strong support to take top spot on Labor’s NSW Senate ticket at the next election.
A Labor source told Daily Mail Australia said it was a no-brainer to put former NSW premier Keneally in the lower house in a safe Labor seat over Ms Le.
‘They would be crazy to lose Kristina over a 30-year-old unknown quantity with no political experience,’ the source said.
‘For a 30-year-old to be granted a safe seat would be extremely rare.’
Ms Le (right) is pictured with Labor leader Anthony Albanese. She will have to wait a little longer to become a politician
A close ally of Ms Keneally said she has strong links with the local community in Fowler – which takes in Liverpool and Fairfield – due to her time as premier.
‘They want some-one with experience who will give them a seat at top table, especially if Labor wins government,’ the source said.
Senator Keneally – who led Labor to the worst defeat of a sitting government in NSW history as premier in 2011 – said she will move 44km from her $1.8million home on Scotland Island on Sydney’s Northern Beaches to live in the Fowler electorate.
A total of 19 per cent of the residents in the electorate – are Vietnamese and Ms Le wanted to Labor to prove it was truly a multicultural party by selecting a Vietnamese candidate.
Ms Le said she was gutted to be elbowed out by Ms Keneally who was parachuted into the senate by then leader Bill Shorten in 2018 when sitting senator Sam Dastyari quit after controversy over links to Chinese donors.
One local community advocate told the ABC that Senator Keneally would not be welcome because she does not represent the disadvantaged area.
‘I don’t think Kristina Keneally represents the community in Fairfield,’ said Winnie Dunn, general manager of Sweatshop Literacy Movement.
‘It’s predominantly Assyrian and Vietnamese communities, and because she’s from the North Shore I just think that disconnect will be overwhelmingly difficult for her to bridge.’
Mr Hayes’s brother Gerard, who runs the Health Services Union, also slammed the move, telling the ABC: ‘Why are we losing our base? Because we do stuff like this.’
Senator Keneally bought her home (pictured) on Sydney’s Scotland Island for $1.8million in 2017
Senator Keneally said she would move out of her Northern Beaches home (pictured) and live in Fowler
And one federal Labor MP described Senator Keneally’s bid as ‘Labor at its worst’.
But in a statement on Friday the 52-year-old senator, who was born in Las Vegas to an American father and an Australian mother, defended her decision to run despite Mr Hayes throwing his support behind Ms Le.
‘Since Chris announced his retirement, I have been approached by ALP branch members urging me to consider nomination for the seat of Fowler,’ she said.
‘I am humbled by this encouragement.
‘Serving this community, living in this community, and fighting for them is what I want to do.’
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese also defended the move, saying Labor was leading the way on multicultural and gender representation in parliament, even citing his own Italian background.
‘Labor has incredible cultural diversity in our ranks,’ he told reporters in Sydney.
He said previous candidates for prime minister all had Anglo-Celtic names in contrast with his Italian surname.
‘I’m putting myself forward, very proud of my background and very proud to lead a party that has advanced multiculturalism.’
A move to the lower house would mean Senator Keneally – who is Labor’s deputy leader in the upper house – will step down from the party’s leadership team but it would open up the possibility of her becoming party leader in future.
It comes after she faced uncertainty over whether she would retain her spot in the senate.
With the left’s Jenny McAllister taking second position on the ticket, Senator Keneally would likely have been relegated to the hard-to-win third spot.
Labor has not won three seats in NSW at a regular half-Senate election since Kevin Rudd swept to power in 2007.
Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese and Reverend Bill Crews greet volunteers packing meals for homeless in Sydney on Friday