Teal urges bold changes for Australia's future
Nicolette Boele, who won the once-safe Liberal seat of Bradfield on Sydney's north shore, called for MPs to be bold and brave in their decision-making in the next three years.
Ms Boele won the former blue-ribbon seat by just 26 votes in one of the closest results in Australian election history, with the final outcome going down to a recount.
In her maiden speech to parliament, she said big reforms similar to John Howard's gun restrictions and Gough Whitlam's Medicare are necessary to ensure long-term systemic issues are dealt with.
"Politics as usual isn't working," Ms Boele told the House of Representatives on Monday.
"Difficult decisions are delayed until the failure to act ushers in disastrous consequences, at which point a royal commission is called for, a referendum sought, or a plebiscite scheduled, or important decisions are made in the dark.
"Independents like me have been elected to put people back into the process of creating our future. This is how we fix things."
However, the independent's future in the parliament remains under a cloud, with her Liberal opponent Gisele Kapterian launching a petition with the High Court to overturn the tight result.
While Ms Kapterian won the first count in Bradfield by eight votes, the recount put Ms Boele ahead by 26.
The independent did not mention the court challenge in her speech, instead talking about her family who spurred her on to become who she is.
Ms Boele spoke of her parents' arrival from the Netherlands and their initial confusion at Australian customs.
"Like so many in this nation, when they arrived, there were challenges fitting in, finding their tribe and that sense of belonging," she said.
"For my mum, it was finally being invited by school mums to join a morning tea and being told to bring a plate, which she did, literally."
Before entering parliament, Ms Boele worked in finance and the clean energy sector for three decades.
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"There are thousands of people that want to be part of the protest, it's not deniable, and many people have been struck by images that have come out of Gaza," he said. The premier had earlier suggested the Harbour Bridge protest would bring "chaos" to Sydney. Mr Lawrence and fellow MP Sarah Kaine said the premier's position ran counter to Labor Party values. NSW has a permit system that allows protesters to block public roads and infrastructure, but a court can revoke those immunities if police challenge the permit. Lawyers argue this runs contrary to Australia's civil rights obligations. "As a party to the core United Nations human rights treaties, Australia has recognised that freedom of assembly is a fundamental human right and, in consequence, NSW must protect it," Australian Lawyers for Human Rights vice president Kerry Weste said. Meanwhile, Victoria's new police commissioner Mike Bush has reiterated his state would not adopt a protest permit system. 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Protesters and politicians pledge to defy any court order banning a pro-Palestine march from an Australian landmark, with a state MP labelling it "inevitable". Aimed at shining a spotlight on starvation among the people of Gaza as a result of Israel's offensive in the enclave, the rally at the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday has been hyped by organisers as a "March for Humanity". Similar demonstrations are planned in Melbourne and Adelaide, and an online petition to allow the Sydney march has attracted more than 15,000 signatures. But NSW Police walked into the Supreme Court on Friday afternoon to request the rally be deemed unauthorised, allowing officers to arrest people for blocking road traffic. A decision is expected later in the day. Organisers Palestine Action Group Sydney vow to rally regardless of the judge's decision, with spokesman Josh Lees saying the groundswell of support was unstoppable. 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Protesters and politicians pledge to defy any court order banning a pro-Palestine march from an Australian landmark, with a state MP labelling it "inevitable". Aimed at shining a spotlight on starvation among the people of Gaza as a result of Israel's offensive in the enclave, the rally at the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday has been hyped by organisers as a "March for Humanity". Similar demonstrations are planned in Melbourne and Adelaide, and an online petition to allow the Sydney march has attracted more than 15,000 signatures. But NSW Police walked into the Supreme Court on Friday afternoon to request the rally be deemed unauthorised, allowing officers to arrest people for blocking road traffic. A decision is expected later in the day. Organisers Palestine Action Group Sydney vow to rally regardless of the judge's decision, with spokesman Josh Lees saying the groundswell of support was unstoppable. 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"There are thousands of people that want to be part of the protest, it's not deniable, and many people have been struck by images that have come out of Gaza," he said. The premier had earlier suggested the Harbour Bridge protest would bring "chaos" to Sydney. Mr Lawrence and fellow MP Sarah Kaine said the premier's position ran counter to Labor Party values. NSW has a permit system that allows protesters to block public roads and infrastructure, but a court can revoke those immunities if police challenge the permit. Lawyers argue this runs contrary to Australia's civil rights obligations. "As a party to the core United Nations human rights treaties, Australia has recognised that freedom of assembly is a fundamental human right and, in consequence, NSW must protect it," Australian Lawyers for Human Rights vice president Kerry Weste said. Meanwhile, Victoria's new police commissioner Mike Bush has reiterated his state would not adopt a protest permit system. 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A pair of Aussie activists have touched down in Sydney after they spent several weeks in Israeli Defence Forces custody after a failed mission to supply food and aid to the starving people of Gaza. Journalist and filmmaker Tan Safi and activist Robert Martin were part of a 21-strong crew that set sail aboard the 'Handala' as part of a humanitarian mission. Since Israel began military operations in Gaza in October 2023, 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in a campaign that prominent Israeli humanitarian organisations labelled as 'genocide' on Monday. Robert Martin and Tan Safi address Australian media at Sydney's Kingsford Smith Airport after being released from IDF custody. Free Gaza Australia Credit: Supplied While speaking to the media at Sydney Airport on Friday morning, the pair said they were 'psychologically brutalised' by their captors. 'We were in international waters at the time, and we were taken completely against our will and just brutalised psychologically in every way,' Safi said. 'We were on a hunger and water strike, but the only time they offered food was once and it was a tomato about (the size of a golf ball),' she said. In a video published on Sunday, Safi said she had been 'abducted' by the Israeli military, and urged supporters to 'put pressure on the Australian government to sanction Israel'. Safi and Mr Martin tried to deliver aid into Gaza. Free Gaza Australia Credit: Supplied The Freedom Flotilla departed from Syracuse, Italy, on July 13, fully equipped with humanitarian supplies, en route to Gaza. Free Gaza Australia, the Australian branch of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) that organised the expedition, said the cargo of the Handala 'carried desperately needed lifesaving humanitarian cargo, including baby formula, food, and medical supplies, to the Palestinian people in Gaza'. At about midnight on July 26, the Handala was intercepted by the Israeli military about 80km miles off the coast of Gaza – an area that is considered to be international waters. The Handala is the second ship organised by the Freedom Flotilla to be intercepted by the IDF. Free Gaza Australia Credit: Supplied Footage shows the moment Israeli troops boarded the flotilla, brandishing assault weapons and pointing them in the direction of flotilla activists who sat in the middle of their ship with hands outstretched. The crew had agreed before their arrest they would engage in a hunger strike in solidarity with Palestinians. Every crew member has now been deported to their country of residence or are in the process of repatriation. In a social media post on Friday morning, Free Gaza Australia said plans were already under way for another expedition to Palestine. Australia's pro-Palestine movement has gained significant traction since 2023. NewsWire / Valeriu Campan Credit: News Corp Australia 'Robert and Tan are home and we're already preparing the next Freedom Flotilla boat to break the siege of Gaza. We sail until Palestine is free,' it said. Allegations have also surfaced of other Freedom Flotilla crew members being abused by IDF soldiers. The FFC said US crew member Chris Smalls was beaten, kicked and choked by at least seven IDF soldiers as he and the other crew members were being detained in the only physical display of brutality catalogued by members of the Flotilla. Among the activists was Greta Thunberg, who has since been sent back to Sweden by Israeli authorities.
