Page 81 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 13 December 2016

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To all the campaign volunteers for every candidate, whether elected or not, for whichever party, thank you for your countless hours of volunteering, demonstrating that democracy is indeed thriving in Canberra. To everyone who is here today, thank you for sharing this occasion with me.

To my parliamentary office team of Josh, Sue, Dan, David and Anton, I am very fortunate to be able to work with such a great team. I look forward to this term working side by side with you. To every single one of my campaign team—you know who you are—I could not have done this without each and every one of you.

To the Liberal Party members and leaders, past and current, thank you for your belief in me, not once, not twice but three times, to be your public voice. Zed, thank you for introducing me to the party and for giving me a go back in 2012 when I was just a law lecturer with a big dream. Jeremy, thank you for being a strong leader and a great friend to me during this campaign. Alistair and Nicole, I am excited about this term and I look forward to working under your leadership.

To the Canberra Korean community led by its President Paul Park; the Canberra Korean elders, as I like to call them, Keith and Yvonne Lee, CJ Kim and DW Lee; to the Yang and Seol families; to the older sister I never had, Jamie; to the Korean friends of the Liberal Party who were behind me all the way; to their Excellencies, the Korean Ambassadors to Australia that I have had the great pleasure of getting to know: Ambassadors Hwang, Kim and Woo, thank you for your moral support and for everything you do for the strengthening of the relationship between Korea and Australia.

As a proud daughter of the Korean community, I am privileged to be able to be your first elected member of an Australian parliament. I will do my best to make you proud. My Uncle David, who is here today, and Aunt Kim, even before I knew I wanted to be a parliamentarian, have been my number-one supporters. Thank you for your leadership in migrating to Australia to give my father a chance to live the life that we lead now. Nathan, you challenge my assumptions, my certainties and my beliefs in ways that I know make me a better person. Thank you for your support, patience and love.

My sister Rosa, as the middle child, my dad nicknamed “the bridge”. Thank you for being the bridge that connects our family. Thank you for being the bridge that connects my sense of responsibility with my wildly idealistic ambitions. Sara, even though she is the youngest, is the strongest and toughest young woman I know. You show maturity beyond your years and I am in awe at how much I learn from you every day.

To my parents, my wonderful amazing parents, John and Cecilia, you sacrificed everything to give me the opportunity to stand here today. You went without necessities so that my sisters and I could have luxuries. Dad, you are still the most optimistic person I know. Your belief in me has never faltered and your dreams for me are bigger than my own. Mum, you are one of the most courageous women I know, taking a blind leap time and time again without question to support me in every path I have chosen in my life.


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