Dai Le
MP
Member of the Australian Parliament for Fowler
Assumed office
21 May 2022
Preceded byChris Hayes
Deputy Mayor of Fairfield
In office
30 December 2021 – 27 September 2022
MayorFrank Carbone
Preceded byPeter Grippaudo
Succeeded byReni Barkho
Member of the Fairfield City Council
Assumed office
4 December 2021
ConstituencyFairfield/Cabravale Ward
In office
9 September 2012 – 4 December 2021
ConstituencyCabravale Ward
Personal details
Born (1968-04-01) 1 April 1968[1]
Saigon, South Vietnam
NationalityVietnamese Australian
Political partyIndependent (since 2016)[lower-alpha 1]
Dai Le & Frank Carbone Network (since 2023)
Other political
affiliations		Liberal (until 2016)
Australian Women's Party (2019–2023)
SpouseMarkus Lambert
Alma materMacquarie University
Websitedaile.com.au

Dai Trang Le (Vietnamese: Lê Trang Đài,[2][3] pronounced [lej˧˧ ʈaːŋ˧˧ ʔɗaːj˨˩]; born 1 April 1968) is a Vietnamese-born Australian politician currently serving as the federal member for Fowler and councillor for Fairfield/Cabravale Ward.

Le arrived in Australia in 1979 as a refugee of the Vietnam War after fleeing Saigon in April 1975 and spending four years with her family in refugee camps in the Philippines and Hong Kong.[4] She became an ABC journalist and politician, and was named as one of the 100 most influential Australian women in 2014.[5]

In 2012 she was elected as a councillor for the City of Fairfield in New South Wales. At the 2022 Australian federal election, she successfully ran as an independent candidate in the Division of Fowler in Western Sydney.[6] Le is the first refugee and Vietnamese Australian to be elected to the Australian House of Representatives.[7][8]

Early life

Le was born in Saigon in 1968, the former capital of South Vietnam. Her family was "closely linked with the Americans" during the Vietnam War.[4] On 30 April 1975, the day that North Vietnam captured Saigon, Le was taken to a port with her family by "military dressed men" and put on a boat to the Philippines.[4] Her family initially believed they would be resettled in the United States and were told their father would join them – he was a Vietnamese lawyer working with the American Embassy – however he did not make it in time to board the boat. Neither Le nor her family ever saw him again.[9]

She lived in a refugee camp in the Philippines for three years until 1979, when her mother decided to smuggle the family aboard another boat to Hong Kong.[9] Her family lived in a refugee camp in Hong Kong for nine months until they were processed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and accepted for resettlement to Australia.[10] She arrived in Australia by plane in December 1979.[11] Her family lived briefly in the Fairy Meadow Migrant Hostel after arriving before eventually being resettled in Bossley Park, a suburb in Sydney's west.[4]

Le attended St Mary Star of the Sea College in Wollongong and later Cerdon College in Merrylands where she completed her Higher School Certificate.[12] She then completed a Bachelor of Arts at Macquarie University, majoring in political science.[13]

Journalism career

Le began her career in 1990 as a cadet journalist at the Liverpool City Champion newspaper, and later helped establish the Fairfield City Champion newspaper with both being part of the Fairfax Community Media Network (now Australian Community Media).[14]

In 1996, Le was one of 15 Australians awarded with the Vincent Fairfax Ethics and Leadership Fellowship Program.[15] The 1996–1997 program allowed Le to travel across Australia and within the Asia/Pacific region to meet and engage with different levels of government, leaders and community groups.

Le also worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation between 1994 and 2008 in a number of roles across TV and radio for programs such as Four Corners, Foreign Correspondent, Lateline, AM, PM, The World Today, and as a producer of Saturday Extra with Geraldine Doogue.[16]

Political career

Le entered the political scene in 2008 as the Liberal Party candidate for the New South Wales state electoral district of Cabramatta in the 2008 by-election following the resignation of sitting MP and former NSW Health Minister Reba Meagher. During this campaign, Le achieved a 20.18-point swing against Labor but was unsuccessful in winning the seat.[17]

At the 2011 NSW state election, Le stood again as the Liberal Party candidate for Cabramatta achieving a further 5-point swing to the Liberal Party turning the once safe Labor seat into a marginal seat. Le again was unsuccessful, losing the seat by 1,768 votes after preferences, reducing the overall margin for the seat to 2 points.[18]

In 2012, Le was elected as an independent candidate to Fairfield City Council's Cabravale Ward in the NSW Local Government Election.[19] She represented Cabravale Ward between 2012 and 2021 before changes to ward boundaries led her to contest the newly created Fairfield/Cabravale Ward since the 2021 NSW local government election.[20]

In 2016, her bid to become mayor over the endorsed Liberal candidate resulted in her suspension from the Liberal Party for 10 years.[21] She subsequently teamed up with mayor Frank Carbone, who resigned from the Labor Party, to lead a majority-independent council as of December 2021.[22]

Le stood as an independent candidate for the seat of Fowler at the 2022 Australian federal election, in response to Labor candidate Kristina Keneally being parachuted into the seat.[23] Le won the seat, with an 18-point swing against the Australian Labor Party, who had previously held it since its creation in 1984.[6] After her election win they had some questions over her eligibility to stand, due to questions on her foreign citizenship status. She dismissed these questions.[24][25][26][27][28]

In early August 2022 as one of her first duties in Parliament Le abstained from the Climate Change Bill, tweeting:

"I will be abstaining from voting on the Climate Change Bill. I can’t justify voting yes on a bill that’s been rushed through parliament when we haven’t been given any specific details of the immediate impact on communities like Fowler. I support a cleaner and greener environment, but my main priority is making sure the high cost of living and unemployment rates in our area are stabilised – especially in these very tough economic times. I will consider supporting future climate policies only if they have a positive outcome for low-income families who are already struggling with high food, fuel and energy prices."[29]

Australian Women's Party

Australian Women's Party
AbbreviationAWP, Dai Le
LeaderDai Le
Founded29 April 2019
Succeeded byDai Le and Frank Carbone Network
Membership (2021)200
IdeologyLiberal feminism
House of Representatives[lower-alpha 2]
1 / 151
(2022–2023)
Fairfield City Council
3 / 13
(2021–2023)

The Australian Women's Party was a political party founded by Le in April 2019.

The party first contested the 2021 New South Wales local elections in the City of Fairfield. Four out of the party's 12 candidates were men.[30]

The party is currently registered with the New South Wales Electoral Commission and officially uses "Dai Le" as its abbreviation.[31]

The party received 20.2% of the vote in Fairfield in 2021. Apart from Le, Kevin Lam and Andrew Rohan were the party's only councillors.[32] It was succeeded by the Dai Le and Frank Carbone Network in 2023.[33]

A separate Australian Women's Party existed from 1995 until 2003, and later The Women's Party from 2018 until 2021.

Personal life

Le is married to Markus Lambert and has one son.[34]

In August 2012, Le was appointed to the Advisory Board of Multicultural NSW (formerly the NSW Community Relations Commission) providing advice to Government ministers and agencies.[16]

In October 2014, Le discovered she had breast cancer and undertook intensive chemotherapy and radiation treatment. She later recovered from her breast cancer in 2015 and was appointed a Cancer Council ambassador for Greater Western Sydney.[35]

Le is also the founder of the Diverse Australian Women's Network,[36] which aims to empower women from diverse backgrounds through conversation and advocacy.[37][38] She also founded the South West Entrepreneurial Hub,[39] a platform for business owners, start-ups and entrepreneurs living in Sydney’s South West, to meet, collaborate and share their experiences and learn from one another.[40]

Le stated she “still believes in God and prays to the Virgin Mary” but is no longer a practising Catholic. She credits her election win to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.[41]

Although her surname (Lê) is pronounced /lej˧˧/ in the Saigon dialect ("lay"), she has taken to use the pronunciation /liː/ ("lee") which the Australian public generally uses.

Notes

  1. ↑ Although Le is a member of the Dai Le & Frank Carbone Network, she continues to sit as an independent in parliament.
  2. ↑ While Le was a member of the Australian Women's Party, she was elected and sat as an independent before forming the Dai Le & Frank Carbone Network.

References

  1. ↑ "Ms Dai Le MP". Parliament of Australia.
  2. ↑ Ngọc, Xuân (23 May 2022). "Bầu cử 2022: Ứng cử viên độc lập Đài Lê sẽ là nữ dân biểu gốc Việt đầu tiên tại Quốc hội Liên bang". Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "Fairfield City Council Candidates".
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Dai Le Oral History". Fairfield City Heritage Collection. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  5. ↑ Walters, Rosaline (8 October 2014). "Dai Le, career woman, Fairfield councillor and mother is planning on breaking down the bamboo ceiling". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  6. 1 2 Malone, Ursula (22 May 2022). "Voters reject Labor's Kristina Keneally, Dai Le to take seat of Fowler at 2022 federal election". ABC News. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  7. ↑ Ngọc, Xuân (23 May 2022). "First Vietnamese-born member of federal parliament elected". SBS Vietnamese. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  8. ↑ McGuirk, Rod (23 May 2022). "Australia swears in new center-left prime minister in major political shakeup". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  9. 1 2 The Hon. Charlie Lynn, Parliamentary Secretary (20 October 2011). "STATE ELECTION AND DAI LE". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Parliament of New South Wales: Legislative Council. Archived 29 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Le, Dai (8 November 2016). "As refugees in the 70s, we were lucky, but what would happen to us now?". ABC News. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  11. ↑ "As refugees in the 70s, we were lucky, but what would happen to us now?". ABC News. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  12. ↑ "Who is Dai Le?". Allora News. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  13. ↑ Allen, Amanda (19 January 2022). "Dai Le – A Story of Courage & Conviction – Refugee, Breast Cancer, Media & Politics!". GetPodcast. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  14. ↑ "Dai Le opens up about how cancer changed the way she thought about money". Money magazine. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  15. ↑ Menzies, Felicity (30 January 2018). "Dai Le". Include-Empower.Com. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  16. 1 2 "DAI LE". AVLD. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  17. ↑ "The Marginal Seat". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 March 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  18. ↑ "Cabramatta - NSW Votes 2011 - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  19. ↑ ABC election news. "Fairfield Election Results". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  20. ↑ Ben, Raue (5 May 2021). "Fairfield council election, 2021". tallyroom.com.au. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  21. ↑ Mayers, Lily (17 August 2016). "NSW Liberal Party gives Fairfield councillor Dai Le 10-year suspension over independent mayor bid". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  22. ↑ "Fairfield's Carbone returns as Mayor, Dai Le elected Deputy at Council's first meeting". Allora News. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  23. ↑ Thorpe, Nakari (1 May 2022). "Local candidate in with a chance against parachuted former premier Kristina Keneally in safe Labor Western Sydney seat". ABC News. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  24. ↑ "Independent Fowler MP Dai Le facing questions after claiming she had never held foreign citizenship on AEC declaration". Sky News Australia.
  25. ↑ "Candidate hits back at eligibility query". The Canberra Times.
  26. ↑ "Fowler independent Dai Le insists she is eligible to sit in parliament". ABC News.
  27. ↑ "Dai Le rejects suggestions she's ineligible for Australia's parliament due to section 44". SBS News.
  28. ↑ "Le stands by her citizenship claims". The Australian.
  29. ↑ Stayner, Tom (4 August 2022). "Labor's climate bill passes lower house as Coalition votes against enshrining 2030 target". SBS News.
  30. ↑ "The Sauce: One third of Australian Women's Party candidates are men". The Daily Telegraph.
  31. ↑ "Local government register of political parties". New South Wales Electoral Commission.
  32. ↑ "City of Fairfield". ABC News.
  33. ↑ "Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone and Fowler MP Dai Le to form Western Sydney-focused 'anti-teals' party". The Daily Telegraph.
  34. ↑ 50sowhat.com.au (27 May 2020). "Breast cancer survivor Dai Le shares her story to educate and inspire others". 50 So What. Retrieved 25 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  35. ↑ "Becoming a Breast Cancer Advocate | Breast Cancer Trials". www.breastcancertrials.org.au. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  36. ↑ Dumas, Daisy (13 February 2015). "Parliament seat on Fairfield Councillor Dai Le's post-cancer bucket list". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  37. ↑ "DawnCast". Youtube. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  38. ↑ Khorana, Sukhmani (20 March 2015). "Everyday Talk, Everyday Politics (with Dai Le)". Peril – Asian Australian Arts and Culture. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  39. ↑ "Dai Le". Q+A. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  40. ↑ "Dai Le". BridgingCareers. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  41. ↑ "A new voice in the west". TheCatholicWeekly. 23 September 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
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