Update: I decided to not do this maiden speech about Barry O'Rourke. Instead, it is about me because I know more about my family and it feels more comfortable to me.

1. Thank
president/whoever
it is

2. Acknowledgement
of Country
Acknowledgement of the traditional
owners of the land of Rockhampton
(Darrumbal People)
Recognise that Australia is not our land

3. Thanking and
acknowledging the
leadership of other
past senators (even of
opposite parties)
- Including favourite ones (names plus what some did)
Thank the Rockhampton Labor party
- Thank leader of Labor party (Anthony Albanese) for his dedication to the people of Australia and what
he stood for
- How he inspired me and encouraged me
- Thank Kevin Rudd
- How he inspired me and encouraged me
- Thank campaigners and team for my election
Thank public for putting trust in me

4. I will be representing the
Rockhampton electorate
area as the __nd member
• What the past member (Barry O'Rourke) has
stood for in the past few years
• The traits he has
• The good things he has done

5. Family history
and how fam
came and
settled in Aus
• My mother's family is French. She came to Australia with her
family when she was 9 in 1971. Her father was a medic for
Morocco by 16 due to there not being enough money due to
the great depression. Little is known about her mother.
• When my mother's family came to Australia, it was to escape
the tension happening overseas in Europe. It was a rough
beginning in Australia, sometimes struggling to have a roof
over their head and food on the table, but my mother's
father began to lead a large French catering business and life
eventually got better
• My father's German and English family came to Australia much
earlier than my mother. He was born in Lismore, New South
Wales, and was a mechanic, truck driver, and worked with
water bores. He was raised Mormon and that whole side of the
family was very into Mormon culture
• I was born in 1991 at Ipswich Hospital
• I grew up in Gatton, the Sunshine Coast, and Gladstone at a
public school, private Christian school, and private Catholic
school
• My early years were spent with my mother who was very free-
spirited, and the latter with my father and step-mother who
were religious and conservative
• All of this certainly helped to diversify my views and
understand different communities because life was
experienced from many different angles
• Though I did not grow up in Rockhampton in my adolescent
years, I did graduate with a journalism degree from Central
Queensland University in Rockhampton in 2009
• Doing placement in Rockhampton as a journalist really got me
connections with all sorts of people and into Rockhampton
culture

6. Speaking of family, thank family
and say how they inspired me to
be where I am now
• Last (and certainly not the least) of all, I'd like to thank my family
• I did get a roof over my head and was fed, and am grateful for that
• But I'm referring to my true family, the ones that shaped my soul
• They have raised me to be who I am in many respects
• My youngest brother Damien is the sibling I am emotionally closest to
• I thank him for being a great brother, a great friend, and someone I very much look up to
• Many of his morals (the ones from tough experiences in his life such as homelessness) have
passed on to me. He's a passionate fighter and a kind person
• I'd like to thank my sister Rachel
• Though we are only recently in each other's lives, she has taught me much about standing up
for myself and pushing myself in general
• Qualities that are highly needed to enact change

7. The Murdoch Media
• It is an honor to represent __ electorate
• And one that I will not shy away from accountability for
• If I am corrupt, call me out. It is my role to represent the needs of my
electorate, not my own personal needs.
• If I am unfair, I want my people and the press to hold me accountable.
• That said, I also do not deserve smearing/character assassination from
those who are corrupt themselves
• As a member of the Labor party living in a nation with a media
monopoly that does not like my party, I ask for fairness
• Kevin Rudd quote
• Statistics on Murdoch's media empire – reach, impact on War on
Afghanistan as example
• Recent smearing of Albanese for having covid by Murdoch Empire

8. Housing Crisis/Homelessness
• I really appreciate the fact that I had a roof over my head growing up, and still do.
• Something many people take for granted
• While I had a roof over my head, my brother did not in his latter high school years
• He became voluntarily homeless.
• In year 11 due to domestic violence – specifically financial abuse committed by his parents
• He and I though, are so grateful for the work the hostels did
• We believed (as is commonly done including by our parents) that the only option was foster care where he would experience rough treatment.
• But in his case that was not true.
• The hostel gave him a place to rent, driving lessons at the PCYC, psychological help, and other resources that profoundly fostered his independence
• He was later awarded a ___ award for ___ at his high school graduation
• According to a 2020 article by the ABC, by June 2021, a 2.19% increase in homelessness and a 55.2% increase in housing stress was predicted for the CQ region
• This is "set to be one of the worst in the nation" by 2021, according to a recent Equity Economics report
• CQ has the lowest rental vacancy rate on record and the second-lowest in the state
• The pandemic has cause this, and staff from Roseberry Queensland have been traumatised from having to turn away people in need.
• The turnaway (which is usually of young people) is causing, among other things, depression, anxiety, family breakdowns, and domestic violence situations
• The government needs to invest more money into social housing, and that is something I wholeheartedly stand by and will back
• (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-12-17/homelessness-to-increase-in-central-queensland/12988944?msclkid=13613b1bcf9011ecaecff1c1c970b2df)

9. Last thank you
• Once again, thank you to all of
the people who have helped me
get where I am now
• I will show what dedication, hard
work, good support, and love can
do to Rockhampton