I saw you joined Twitter, today - glad to see it.  Twitter is a great platform for communicating with the public; I’m really looking forward to the conversation. The internet is a fantastic tool for democracy.

I’ve had a rough relationship with Labor for several months now.  I moved into Swan, and I signed up to do door-knocking and stuff for Tim Hammond, and then I couldn’t bring myself to do it.  Several letters of resignation have been written.  Some seething and babbling about all the hurt recent policy decisions have caused me, some blunt and to the point.  But I haven’t been able to bring myself to post any of them.  I kept thinking we’d wake up one morning and things would be better.

So aside from the way it happened, I was really glad when you became Leader of the FPLP and Prime Minister.  Congrats on a great first week.

With the fresh start, plus the Twitter thing, today seemed like the perfect time to start this here little blog so that I can let know about things that really matter to me right now — and will matter to me in the lead up to the election.  So that things with me and the ALP don’t get bad again, you know.  I really hope the toxic stuff is over and we can have lots of great chats and do lots of great things together.

I won’t start with the policy stuff now — in the words of Jay-Z, please allow me to re-introduce myself:

You probably don’t remember me, but we met at the Labor Women’s Network conference in Melbourne 2005 - here’s the pic that my Young Labor friend Mel Cooke and me giddily took with you.

To start at the beginning: I was born in Sri Lanka in 1984, and my family moved here in 1998 (yeah, when I was four). 

My mum, a pedeatric surgeon in Lanka, had to requalify to be a doctor here; she studied for a huge exam and re-did her internship with two young kids.  She’s a GP now. Looking back now, when I am struggling to even take care of myself as I start my new career, I can’t fathom how she did it.

My dad, who had spent time working for CARE International, took up a job with the Health Department of WA when we moved to Perth and has continued his long contribution to public service both in Sri Lanka and here.

My parents value the same things as your’s: “hard work, a good education, on treating people with respect and on doing our bit for the community”.  Those were really important things to me too, as I was growing up.  I have always wanted to take the opportunities I have been given in my life to help others. 

After I graduated with First Class Honours in both my BA and my LLB, I worked at the Supreme Court as an Associate before starting work at a national commercial law firm.  I did my first year doing general commercial litigation and I am currently working in a group doing Native Title, environment and planning.  I’m doing heaps of pro bono work and am involved in the firm’s Reconciliation Action Plan, as well as two projects dealing with mental health in the legal profession and the wider community (I have had depression since — on who knows how long).  I also volunteer for a great Perth non-profit called CASE for Refugees.

Look, Julia, I can understand if you’ve read this far that you’re thinking you know exactly what I stand for and don’t want to hear from me any more. 

But please don’t ignore me.  If for anything other than I have looked up to you for so long; and in a way — I have been following your path… (except for maybe with my current place of work.  Slater & Gordon doesn’t offer articles in WA, so yeah. That wasn’t going to happen.)

At O-Day on my first day of law school, I joined the ALP (my birthday wasn’t until August so actually it was before I was even eligible to vote!).  I’ve been involved in Young Labor (until a horrible experience at National Conference when the boys in the NSW Right disgusted me so much that I couldn’t stomach it any more) and have been a supporter of EMILY’s List.

Politics has always been something I have cared about.  I really believe in this great country and I have a modicum of hope left in the ALP — no pressure, Julia, but you are that ray of light for me.

I hope we can talk about all the things that matter.

Warm regards
Sunili