Wednesday, 19 March 2025

Members

Member for Prahran

Inaugural speech

The SPEAKER (18:02): The time has come for me to interrupt business for the member for Prahran to make her inaugural speech. I remind members to observe the courtesies of inaugural speeches, and I remind visitors in the galleries that no photography or filming is allowed.

Rachel WESTAWAY (Prahran) (18:02): It is an honour to address this Assembly as the member for Prahran and as the first person of Thai heritage to be elected to this Parliament and only the second female to hold the seat since the creation in 1889.

Prahran is the smallest electorate by area in our wonderful state. It is a place known as a tourist destination, a great place to visit and a wonderful place to live. Prahran is home to many buildings of major historical significance, including the Shrine of Remembrance, Government House, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Prahran Market, Como House, the Astor and the Melbourne Shul, home to one of Australia’s first Jewish congregations. It boasts wonderful bike tracks and walking tracks and offers a variety of water activities along our famed stretch of the Yarra River. We have exceptional local schools, both state and independent, that provide choice and quality education for local students. We also have our much-loved Alfred hospital, which offers important health services and conducts world-leading research. The iconic Chapel Street runs through the heart of the electorate.

We have some of the most vulnerable people in our state, and we are also home to many of our most successful Victorians. We have historically strong, active and proud Jewish and Greek communities. We also have a thriving LGBTQI community that adds to the diversity of our area. We have large numbers of public housing units that offer shelter and support for our most vulnerable. We have many young people who are living out of home for the first time. We have residents who have lived in the area for generations.

Prahran is already a very densely populated area and is experiencing problems servicing this area. It is the place that my family and I chose to establish our home more than 20 years ago, and it is a great honour to now represent the hopes and dreams, needs and aspirations of my local community in the Parliament of Victoria.

My grandparents escaped Communism in China in the 1930s, and they fled to Thailand to set up a better life. Thailand offered them hopes and the ability to get ahead. My grandmother could not read or write. Women were not afforded those opportunities in China back then, and sadly millions of women are still denied such opportunities today in many parts of the world.

My grandparents set up their new home in Bangkok’s Chinatown. Starting with nothing, they worked tirelessly to build their business and raise 12 children. They worked hard, and they were rewarded for their efforts. They knew that education was key to the future for their children, and they sacrificed a lot to provide their children with a better education than they had had. That is how my dad ended up in Melbourne just after the White Australia policy ended. Alone as a 16-year-old he soon discovered that it was completely unlike bustling Bangkok. He had no winter clothes, the shops closed at midday on Saturdays and there was not a mango in sight. I simply cannot imagine the resilience it would take for a non-English-speaking teenage boy to start school and integrate into local society, but he managed to do it, like so many other migrants to Victoria and Australia have done over the years.

My dad met my Aussie mum at a Thai function. They fell in love, and then I came along. We initially lived in Noble Park, well before that area became home to many other Asian Australian families, and nearby Springvale, an active hub of Asian culture. We then moved to Dingley at a time when that area was transitioning from market gardens to housing estates. As teenagers, my friends and I loved visiting Chapel Street. It was eclectic, sophisticated and sometimes a bit edgy. My aunt owned Asian grocery shops on Chapel Street, and I would spend all my holidays helping her and my cousins.

Being an only child with tiger parents, I was determined to get ahead. I completed my degree at Monash University in sociology and Australian politics; later I obtained graduate qualifications in business, immigration law and teaching. Coming out of university with a HECS debt and a car loan, I ran straight into the 1990s recession. However, I was lucky enough to secure wonderful employment opportunities, and I became brand manager at Cadbury, where I created the giant Caramello koala. I went on to marketing roles at the Age, SBS and the National Trust of Australia. At SBS I was immersed in the fabric of multicultural Australia, and I was committed to the benefits of multiculturalism.

I am proud of my Thai heritage, I am proud of my Chinese heritage and I am proud of my Australian heritage. That diverse background helped to form my view that Australia needs to be a culturally diverse yet socially cohesive nation. In the 1990s One Nation first emerged in Australia, with policies that spread division rather than unity within our community. I wanted to demonstrate that an open, welcoming and culturally diverse society brings true benefits to Australia. With sensible immigration, good policy and inclusive language we could reap even more benefits for a country already built on successive waves of immigration. I wanted to see our state and country flourish with prosperity, with minimal government interference, and to see people of all cultures and backgrounds who want to and can work hard being rewarded for their efforts.

I was attracted to the Liberal Party because it shares my values of freedom of thought, worship, speech and association. It promotes the fiscal responsibility my parents always stressed to me. It is a party that encourages and supports small business and values minimal government interference in our daily lives. The Liberal Party stands for giving people a hand up, not a handout. That is exactly what my grandparents sought when they escaped communism. So 25 years ago, when I was working and living in Sydney, I was motivated to join the Liberal Party. In the process I met my husband Simon – who says politics is boring? – and we relocated back to Melbourne.

I have enjoyed a career that has been challenging and that has enabled me to contribute to areas that are important to me. I have been a Commonwealth tribunal member, reviewing matters on appeal in immigration, social security and child support. I have also been an assistant commissioner in Victoria, reviewing FOI matters.

Simon and I have three amazing children, Scarlet, Fletcher and Jasmine. I am so proud that they are healthy and happy and that they passionately support each other. Now that they are teenagers, our dinnertime conversations are dynamic and challenging, and they provide valuable insights and perspective for me.

In the last 12 months we have seen almost half the world’s population vote in national elections. Across the globe there has been a shift in politics towards the right. Many have attributed this to global cost-of-living pressures, and Victorians definitely know how tough it is to make ends meet in this state. However, I consider that this shift also indicates a broader desire for change from the status quo. During the hectic recent by-election so many locals pointed out the pressures they were under, many living from pay cheque to pay cheque, unable to break into the housing market and struggling to meet their commitments.

Families or those wanting to start a family are worried about finding child care or paying for their children’s basic school needs. Traders discuss the cost of doing business and the real decline of Chapel Street, and so many shops are empty because of high taxes and charges and rising antisocial behaviour. More people than ever are homeless and forced to live on the streets because of the lack of funding for outreach services and lack of transition housing.

However, the overriding concern by far was the rising level of crime. Fifty-two per cent of Prahran residents are women; they feel unsafe and vulnerable. The crime rate in Prahran is three times the state average. Our local police are doing their best, but they need more resources to have a more visible police presence in the local area.

A major issue is the rampant rise in antisemitism. The firebombing of a synagogue in the neighbouring suburb was simply the most egregious of a long series of attacks and threats endured by our local Jewish community, and it deeply saddens me that these people who have contributed so much to our state and our nation feel voiceless, alienated and unsafe. They deserve representatives in a state government that stands with them and actively fights antisemitism until it is permanently eliminated.

I have always looked for opportunities for improvement, both personally and professionally, and now I extend this to the seat of Prahran. I would not have this opportunity without the support of many people, and I want to place on record my enormous gratitude for their ongoing support and friendship.

[NAMES AWAITING VERIFICATION]

I acknowledge my parents, Lesley and Suthep. You know I love you, and I do sort of tease that you were tiger parents, and it is a trait I have inherited. My husband Simon, I am so grateful for your love and support and for our mutual passion for Liberal politics and for giving me our beautiful children Scarlet, Fletcher and Jasmine. To my friends from school – primary school and high school – Danielle and Sally. To my Liberal friends, the chair of our Prahran conference Julie and the Prahran SEC executive. I would also like to recognise Karalee and Peter Katsambanis. Peter, a former upper house member in Victorian politics, has backed me and guided me in this journey and has been a dear friend for decades. To Liz, Jackie, Will, Marcus, Jack and John who have provided wonderful advice and support. To the many members of my local branches and beyond who volunteered, with special mention to the great campaigners Nate and Paul. To Helen, Karen and Michael – all have provided great insight over a long time now; and to the local school mums who have cheered me on.

Tonight I acknowledge the contribution of two former Liberal members for Prahran, Leonie Hemingway Ackerberg and Clem Newton Brown. It has been a pleasure to get to know them both, and I have valued their insights and support. I am grateful for the professionalism, dedication and hard work of our Liberal secretariat team and most importantly to the people of Prahran who have put their trust in me.

Our community recently came together with the tragic passing of a much-loved 17-year-old following his rowing training. Eddie was a student at a school in my electorate. His father is a dear friend. Eddie’s funeral was unspeakably sad but was filled with friends from every school in the electorate. It was a reminder of how important community is. It goes well beyond politics and was a poignant reminder of what truly matters in life.

I love our local area, and as long as I am its representative in this place I will strive to protect and preserve the good things. I will fight to fix the things that need to be fixed to make our area an even better place to live. I want to address the significant erosion in social values within our community. One example of this erosion of values is the growing lack of respect for our police, which inevitably leads to a shortage of new recruits willing to join the force to protect our community. Safety was never a concern when I was a teenager going to Chapel Street. I want women and children, people of all ages, to feel just as safe everywhere in our state as my friends and I felt back then and on Chapel Street.

Chapel Street was once a premier tourist destination; providing a better police presence and funding more CCTV in the area is a starting point, but more needs to be done. Traders and local residents have emphasised the need for a genuine strategy to bring local businesses, residents, police, the tourism industry, state government agencies and Stonnington council together. A key focus of that strategy needs to be a return of regular festivals and other activations such as lighting and public art to make the streets feel better and a must-visit destination for locals and tourists. As a local member, I want to make sure the strategy comes together and succeeds in stimulating the local economy and driving new employment opportunities.

We need to ensure that local families have ongoing access to quality child care – for example, that provided at Windsor childcare centre, which supports 100 local families. It operates on land gifted to Swinburne University by the Baillieu Liberal government for this purpose. It should not be sold for development, and it is incumbent on the state government to make sure this does not happen.

Our aspiring female sports stars deserve to have appropriate dressing-room facilities. This includes the girls and women who play at the Toorak Prahran Cricket Club in Orrong park. It is the largest cricket club in Victoria with the fastest growing female program, yet it has got no female change rooms, nor does it have disability access. This needs to be addressed immediately.

I will also be initiating a forum to bring local women together in a supportive environment where they can identify opportunities to assist and mentor each other in their studies, to access business opportunities and to exchange ideas.

Despite the existing high density in our area, I recognise the need for further development to meet current and future housing needs, including affordable housing. We are not NIMBYs; however, we do not believe it is fair, reasonable or democratic to deny local residents the same changes that will fundamentally change the nature and character of their local area. I will resist planning proposals that take these rights away from local residents.

The Prahran by-election highlighted a concerning trend for democracy in this state. The election turnout was only 68.3 per cent, and that means that 15,000 eligible voters did not cast a vote. This was despite two weeks of pre-poll. The length of this period needs to be reviewed, as it created an enormous pressure on election staff and candidate volunteers. The previous recommendation of the Electoral Matters Committee to limit pre-poll to seven days before election day should be reconsidered. The selection of pre-poll places must also be reviewed, as the two chosen for this by-election were inappropriate locations and hard to access, which created problems for staff, volunteers and voters. Postal voting should be made easier and more accessible for people who are unable to physically access polling booths.

In closing, I wish to thank my parliamentary colleagues for their support for Prahran at the by-election. Your collegiality and professionalism are very much valued. The people of Prahran experienced a sea of blue, with star power from parliamentary colleagues across the state and ongoing support, I would like to recognise, from Brad Battin, Sam Groth, Georgie Crozier, David Davis, David Southwick and John Pesutto. I will relish this opportunity to represent my constituents and advocate for an electorate that is a much-loved place to live and visit in Victoria. Thank you, Speaker, for the opportunity to address the house. ขอบคุณมากครับค่ะ.

Members applauded.