Mary Doyle (Aston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I acknowledge that we meet on the traditional lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples of this region, and I pay my respects to their elders past, present and emerging. The community of Aston, which I represent, exists on the lands of the Wurundjeri and Bunurong peoples of the Kulin nation, the outer eastern suburbs of Naarm/Melbourne—a place I have called home for the past 37 years. I acknowledge and pay my respects to their peoples past, present and emerging. Always was, always will be, Aboriginal land.

I came to live in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne because three of my older sisters had done the same, so naturally, when it was my time to move out of home from my home town of Echuca, this is where I gravitated to, because connection to family is so important. I'm a proud mum to my 24-year-old son, Clancy, and my 21-year-old daughter, Lily, and a proud great-aunty to 19-year-old Jamilah, who came into my care five years ago at the age of 14, when her beautiful mum, my niece Melanie, tragically died from a brain aneurysm at the age of 42. This sudden devastation occurred in Tasmania not long after the start of the COVID lockdowns in 2020. Having Jamilah join Clancy, Lily and me in our home was something I never questioned, as she needed connection to her mother's family.

Being re-elected as the member for Aston was an enormous honour—one that was so humbling. It was also akin to being welcomed back to a family of sorts—in fact, a couple of families. There is the family of the electorate of Aston, such a vibrant, multicultural community—one where I have gained all kinds of siblings and maybe a few different mums, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. Then there's my family of colleagues in Canberra—the MPs and senators I have come to know and respect, and their staff members too. It's good to be back in the big house, and that's an enormous honour as well.

Having run three elections in three years has been a lot of fun—well, some of the time. In 2022, when I ran against the former member for Aston, Alan Tudge, it was a steep learning curve for me as a first-time Labor candidate. At that time, in 2022, Aston had been Liberal since 1990, and my fledgling campaign for Aston was extremely grassroots. I shared a campaign office with two other first-time Labor candidates: the now current member for Deakin, Matt Gregg, as well as the Labor candidate for Menzies at that time. I funded a lot of that campaign myself, with financial help from the wonderful ASU, my union; local ALP branch members; my friends; and many true believers. I had zero delusions of grandeur, let alone any delusions of winning Aston in 2022, but I was amazed, as were many of my friends and colleagues, by a swing of 7.3 per cent to Labor in Aston in 2022—incredible. Having Labor win the whole federal election in 2022 was brilliant, and that was the best win overall.

But I wondered about the victor in Aston that year and if he'd hang around for a full term. I wondered, in fact, why he'd ever run at all in Aston in that election, quite frankly. The former member for Aston's resignation from office followed nine months later, thus necessitating a by-election in April of 2023. I then had to gear up for an election campaign again, not even a year after the last one. This time was vastly different, as the nation's media was focused solely on this one federal electorate, once the safest Liberal seat in the whole country. How would it all turn out? 'Could you win, Mary? No pressure!' And, against all odds, that is what happened, the first time a sitting government had won an opposition seat in a by-election in 103 years—such an historic political event.

It was a bruiser of a campaign; I'm not going to lie. There were sniping comments and barbs from my opponent's volunteers. Some of them were yelling right in my face as I was speaking to voters at prepoll, but they were nothing I couldn't handle. My volunteers and supporters were fantastic. They were always there for me at all of the street stalls and early morning train station visits, just as they were in 2022. They were handing out flyers for me on prepoll and by-election day too. I will never forget that rousing reception I walked into at Boronia Bowls Club on the night of the by-election. It was electric and so overwhelming. It is safe to say my face said it all that night. I had not expected to win at all, and I was so overwhelmed and excited as I made my victory speech in front of all the nation's media and the crowd at the Boronia Bowls Club.

To go through another federal election campaign as the incumbent this time was a totally different experience again—another campaign, another Liberal opponent. This one was an entirely different beast—I'm talking about the campaign, not my opponent, of course. The opposition had chosen their candidate well ahead of time, and he'd been out and about very early. He and his people were flagrantly telling story after ludicrous story about me personally, about our government and about his own past, including exactly where he was from—that is, born and raised—and the location of the school where he was a 'local teacher'. He even changed his first name to try and hide certain facts about himself as the failed Liberal candidate for Bruce in 2013 and the failed Liberal candidate for Holt in 2007.

On day 1 of prepoll 2025, when we were at a booth, my two volunteers and I noticed a stark difference in both the by-election and 2022 election prepoll kick-offs. The number of Liberal Party volunteers not only outnumbered us; they far exceeded what's considered normal by the standards of past elections. This new guard weren't familiar with the etiquette of ordinary how-to-vote vollies of all persuasions; they were mean and they were coordinated in their meanness and their moves. I would move to a different area and then be shadowed by one or more of them or my volunteers would be. They would also loudly sing strange chants at the largely befuddled voters lined up and jiggle their candidate's corflutes at people walking in. The candidate himself would try to pick a fight with me or another of the candidates and then film what he hoped would be some kind of altercation with one of his young male volunteers. He accused one woman, an independent candidate from another electorate, of yelling when she clearly was not yelling at all. It was all very weird, and I honestly couldn't understand how he thought this behaviour would win him votes.

In the lead-up too, all over the electorate I had my corflute signs pulled down again and again and again. I'd put them back up, and they'd get pulled down again, while his corflutes—and he had so many of them—stayed put. Then the nasty, blatantly sexist and factually wrong corflutes and large banners about me went up all around the electorate. The Liberal Party denied having anything to do with them; however, I witnessed their volunteers pack down these corflutes at the conclusion of voting on prepoll.

A huge amount of money was spent in Aston by my opponent and those that backed him, but, once again, my volunteers and I stayed strong. For months we had been focused on the people of Aston through doorknocks, phone calls and regular visits to shopping centres, coffee shops and the like, and the response we received was incredibly positive towards me as their federal member and towards the Prime Minister and our federal Labor government about what we had achieved already in the three years in office and what I had delivered as their new member for Aston for the past two years.

The Bayswater urgent care clinic, in particular, was a huge winner for our community of Aston. People in Aston loved it, and, if they hadn't heard about it, they loved learning about it. Cheaper medicines; 60-day scripts; the tripling of the Medicare incentives for GPs, making it easier to access bulk-billing; and the automatic $300 energy bill relief for 2024-25, which was extended for another $150 to the end of 2025—these were the things that truly helped people and truly mattered to people.

During the 2025 federal election campaign, I was supported by an incredible team of wonderful and loyal volunteers, staff members and friends who once again rallied for me to be the member for Aston. They helped me by knocking on 20,000 doors, making 14,000 phone calls and letterboxing tens of thousands of dwellings within Aston. I would especially like to thank the following: Isabel Machuca, Cael McFarlane, Katie and Leiah, Pat and Ken Rivett, Lance Cadman, James Gan, Jacqui Cherry, Sally Larwood, Pat Kelly, Alison Fitch, Paul Sparks, Darcy Truin, Jesse Williams and Ashley Jakowitz. And to my staff—Russell, Hannah, Mannie, Divya, Shauna, Sunny, Chunying, Jacob, and Mary French—and former staffer Richard: thank you all too. Thank you so much to my state Labor colleagues: the member for Bayswater, Jackson Taylor MP, and the member for Monbulk, Daniela De Martino MP, as well as Michael Galea MLC and all of their wonderful staff. To one of my dearest friends of many, many years and now senator for Victoria the Hon. Lisa Darmanin: thank you for your continued support and friendship over the years and also during the times I ran as the Labor candidate in Aston. You've been at all three of my campaign launches and have championed me all the way. I cannot thank you enough, Lisa. Thank you also to the senator's amazing staff for assisting me and my team throughout the last year. It's been incredible getting to know you all. To Senator Jess Walsh: thank you for all your assistance with doorknocking and for your support and friendship during my election campaign as well.

Thanks also must go to those ministers, assistant ministers and senators who came to visit my electorate of Aston during the last term, some of whom came to visit during my re-election campaign too: Senator Penny Wong; Senator Katy Gallagher; the member for Chifley, Ed Husic; the member for Isaacs, Mark Dreyfus; Minister Clare O'Neil; Assistant Minister Ged Kearney; Minister Catherine King; Minister Kristy McBain; Minister Matt Keogh; Minister Tony Burke; Minister Anika Wells; Minister Amanda Rishworth; Minister Anne Aly; Minister Andrew Giles and, of course, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Having you all visit Aston was most welcomed by me and our community of Aston. Thank you to all the wonderful people of Aston who came out to support me and to re-elect me. As your MP in federal parliament, I am here to listen to you, learn from you and advocate for you to the best of my ability. Thank you for putting your trust in me.

I'd also like to thank my wonderful family. Clancy, who's here today for me, thank you for being here. Thank you to my wonderful partner, Anthony, and to Lily, my daughter and Jamilah, my great-niece.

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