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| Anne Aly: I can't control how people are going to see me | |
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| Anne Aly has spent the past 10 days watching her phone. The Labor candidate declared victory in the suburban Perth seat of Cowan on Monday, after a pile of 200 misidentified ballot papers solidified the early lead she had taken in the tight election race to what the Labor party called an unassailable margin. | Anne Aly has spent the past 10 days watching her phone. The Labor candidate declared victory in the suburban Perth seat of Cowan on Monday, after a pile of 200 misidentified ballot papers solidified the early lead she had taken in the tight election race to what the Labor party called an unassailable margin. |
| The phone call from her opponent, conservative Liberal MP Luke Simpkins, came on Tuesday, by which time her lead had grown to 1,030 votes, with just over 2,000 postal votes still to count. | The phone call from her opponent, conservative Liberal MP Luke Simpkins, came on Tuesday, by which time her lead had grown to 1,030 votes, with just over 2,000 postal votes still to count. |
| Simpkins offered his congratulations, and Aly, who has spent the past 15 years working as an Islamic deradicalisation expert, became the first Muslim woman elected to the Australian parliament. | Simpkins offered his congratulations, and Aly, who has spent the past 15 years working as an Islamic deradicalisation expert, became the first Muslim woman elected to the Australian parliament. |
| It’s a historical milestone that Aly, who migrated to Australia from Egypt aged two, says she did not consciously consider when deciding to run for parliament. | It’s a historical milestone that Aly, who migrated to Australia from Egypt aged two, says she did not consciously consider when deciding to run for parliament. |
| “I don’t see myself through other people’s eyes as brown, Muslim, female, whatever … I didn’t do this or approach this with that at the front of my mind,” she says. “What was at the front of my mind was doing the best that I could for the community.” | “I don’t see myself through other people’s eyes as brown, Muslim, female, whatever … I didn’t do this or approach this with that at the front of my mind,” she says. “What was at the front of my mind was doing the best that I could for the community.” |
| Related: Julie Bishop steps up attack on Anne Aly in ‘hate preacher’ row | Related: Julie Bishop steps up attack on Anne Aly in ‘hate preacher’ row |
| National attention has been focused on the battle between Aly and Simpkins, a conservative’s conservative and former military police officer who once argued that Australians were being unwittingly converted to Islam by eating halal meat. | National attention has been focused on the battle between Aly and Simpkins, a conservative’s conservative and former military police officer who once argued that Australians were being unwittingly converted to Islam by eating halal meat. |
| But Aly says her race and faith had not been much remarked upon in the electorate, with a few notable exceptions. | But Aly says her race and faith had not been much remarked upon in the electorate, with a few notable exceptions. |
| “I went door-knocking on my own one time – big mistake – and an elderly couple called the police because they thought I was trying to break in,” she tells Guardian Australia. | “I went door-knocking on my own one time – big mistake – and an elderly couple called the police because they thought I was trying to break in,” she tells Guardian Australia. |
| “It kind of flashes through your mind: did they do that because I am dark-skinned? | “It kind of flashes through your mind: did they do that because I am dark-skinned? |
| “But you don’t want to say that to people … I just went and introduced myself and said: ‘Oh, no no no, I’m not breaking in! My name is Anne, and I’m running for parliament’.” | “But you don’t want to say that to people … I just went and introduced myself and said: ‘Oh, no no no, I’m not breaking in! My name is Anne, and I’m running for parliament’.” |
| A boundary change and national swing against the Coalition at the 2 July federal election helped Aly gain a 5.19% swing in the working class seat that Simpkins has held since 2007. | A boundary change and national swing against the Coalition at the 2 July federal election helped Aly gain a 5.19% swing in the working class seat that Simpkins has held since 2007. |
| Simpkins conceded defeat in a post on his Facebook page, thanking voters for supporting him through nine years in parliament and wishing Aly well. | Simpkins conceded defeat in a post on his Facebook page, thanking voters for supporting him through nine years in parliament and wishing Aly well. |
| “It was an opportunity I have asked for on five occasions and be granted through their good graces on three occasions,” he wrote. “As I always said, I only ever wanted to be a strong local representative and I am exceedingly grateful they gave me that chance.” | “It was an opportunity I have asked for on five occasions and be granted through their good graces on three occasions,” he wrote. “As I always said, I only ever wanted to be a strong local representative and I am exceedingly grateful they gave me that chance.” |
| The Coalition retained 76 of its 90 seats at the general election, giving the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, just enough seats to again govern in majority. | The Coalition retained 76 of its 90 seats at the general election, giving the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, just enough seats to again govern in majority. |
| Aly says she is “extremely humbled” to represent the electorate and will focus on the key bread and butter concerns raised by Cowan voters, such as education and training, youth unemployment and the aged pension. | Aly says she is “extremely humbled” to represent the electorate and will focus on the key bread and butter concerns raised by Cowan voters, such as education and training, youth unemployment and the aged pension. |
| She says some people had told her they would never vote for a Muslim, to which her response was always: “Fair enough: it’s a democracy.” | She says some people had told her they would never vote for a Muslim, to which her response was always: “Fair enough: it’s a democracy.” |
| “I can’t change who I am, and I can’t control how people are going to see me,” she says. “The only thing that I can control is how I respond to that.” | “I can’t change who I am, and I can’t control how people are going to see me,” she says. “The only thing that I can control is how I respond to that.” |
| That was also her approach to a comments by Coalition frontbenchers Julie Bishop and Michael Keenan, who criticised work she had done as part of her deradicalisation program, accusing her of attempting to secure a lower jail sentence for “hate preacher” Mohammed Junaid Thorne. | That was also her approach to a comments by Coalition frontbenchers Julie Bishop and Michael Keenan, who criticised work she had done as part of her deradicalisation program, accusing her of attempting to secure a lower jail sentence for “hate preacher” Mohammed Junaid Thorne. |
| Aly wrote a letter to the court on behalf of People Against Violent Extremism, a youth mentoring program which received funding from the Abbott Coalition government, saying she had met Thorne and co-accused Mostafa Shiddiqzman, who were charged with flying under a false name, and told them they should try to re-engage with higher education. The letter did not make any statements of personal support. | Aly wrote a letter to the court on behalf of People Against Violent Extremism, a youth mentoring program which received funding from the Abbott Coalition government, saying she had met Thorne and co-accused Mostafa Shiddiqzman, who were charged with flying under a false name, and told them they should try to re-engage with higher education. The letter did not make any statements of personal support. |
| Related: Pauline Hanson takes centre stage again but this time we should listen not lampoon | Margo Kingston | Related: Pauline Hanson takes centre stage again but this time we should listen not lampoon | Margo Kingston |
| She says the “smear campaign” only served to do what her meager advertising budget could not, and make her a household name by promoting the marginal seat battle to the commercial nightly news | She says the “smear campaign” only served to do what her meager advertising budget could not, and make her a household name by promoting the marginal seat battle to the commercial nightly news |
| Aly stands by the program. She says she was motivated to run for parliament after coming up against “a brick wall of political will” in trying to influence counter-terrorism policy, and decided she might have better luck on the inside. | Aly stands by the program. She says she was motivated to run for parliament after coming up against “a brick wall of political will” in trying to influence counter-terrorism policy, and decided she might have better luck on the inside. |
| She also wants to be a voice for the 2% of Australians who identify as Muslim and the 27% who were born overseas, and protect the “somewhat thin veneer of harmony and cohesion and tolerance” she says is under threat from growing rightwing voices in the Coalition and from other political movements, like Pauline Hanson’s reformed One Nation Party. | She also wants to be a voice for the 2% of Australians who identify as Muslim and the 27% who were born overseas, and protect the “somewhat thin veneer of harmony and cohesion and tolerance” she says is under threat from growing rightwing voices in the Coalition and from other political movements, like Pauline Hanson’s reformed One Nation Party. |
| “I don’t think there’s ever been a more important time in our history to have diversity in our parliament,” Aly says. | “I don’t think there’s ever been a more important time in our history to have diversity in our parliament,” Aly says. |
| Aly will be sworn in at the same time as Queensland senator-elect Hanson and up to three other One Nation senators, whose platform includes a Trumpian ban on all Muslim immigration. | Aly will be sworn in at the same time as Queensland senator-elect Hanson and up to three other One Nation senators, whose platform includes a Trumpian ban on all Muslim immigration. |
| Aly seconds Labor senator Sam Dastyari’s election night offer to take Hanson out for a halal snack pack (“If there’s salad in it, because I only eat the salad ones,” Aly adds) and says she would be happy to have “respectful, informed” discussions with the politician. | Aly seconds Labor senator Sam Dastyari’s election night offer to take Hanson out for a halal snack pack (“If there’s salad in it, because I only eat the salad ones,” Aly adds) and says she would be happy to have “respectful, informed” discussions with the politician. |
| “I feel that in some ways it will be a responsibility for me to have input into those kind of debates ... to ensure that those debates remain informed and respectful and not just based on populist opinion but actually based on rational judgment,” she says. | “I feel that in some ways it will be a responsibility for me to have input into those kind of debates ... to ensure that those debates remain informed and respectful and not just based on populist opinion but actually based on rational judgment,” she says. |
| “I really think there is absolutely no excuse for anyone in parliament to be misinformed about issues that affect their electorate, absolutely no excuse, so I would hope that we could ensure that those debates are had in a way that is informed.” | “I really think there is absolutely no excuse for anyone in parliament to be misinformed about issues that affect their electorate, absolutely no excuse, so I would hope that we could ensure that those debates are had in a way that is informed.” |
| Related: Radicalisation in Australia: Muslim leaders work to dissipate 'fixation' with Isis among youths | Related: Radicalisation in Australia: Muslim leaders work to dissipate 'fixation' with Isis among youths |
| The bid for Cowan was Aly’s second tilt at federal politics. She ran third on the Greens Senate ticket for Western Australia in 2007, a fact that was seized by the Coalition as proof she would be weak on policies like asylum seekers. | The bid for Cowan was Aly’s second tilt at federal politics. She ran third on the Greens Senate ticket for Western Australia in 2007, a fact that was seized by the Coalition as proof she would be weak on policies like asylum seekers. |
| Aly says information was “blown out of proportion” and that Labor and the Greens have “a shared value base” as progressive centre-left parties. | Aly says information was “blown out of proportion” and that Labor and the Greens have “a shared value base” as progressive centre-left parties. |
| She is critical of Australia’s management of asylum seekers in offshore detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru, saying the issues of border security, national security, asylum seekers and the “human trafficking” of people smugglers should not be conflated. | She is critical of Australia’s management of asylum seekers in offshore detention centres on Manus Island and Nauru, saying the issues of border security, national security, asylum seekers and the “human trafficking” of people smugglers should not be conflated. |
| “I don’t think there’s any excuse to have somebody in indefinite detention for five years while they are being processed,” she says. “There are ways that it can be done much more quickly and much more efficiently and at much less cost, so when I say that we can be doing better, that’s where we should be doing better,” Aly says. | “I don’t think there’s any excuse to have somebody in indefinite detention for five years while they are being processed,” she says. “There are ways that it can be done much more quickly and much more efficiently and at much less cost, so when I say that we can be doing better, that’s where we should be doing better,” Aly says. |
| She jokes that her election was foretold in the rule of threes: first London elected Sadiq Khan, the son of a Pakistani bus driver, to be lord mayor, and then Waleed Aly (no relation) won the Gold Logie, Australia’s highest television honour. | She jokes that her election was foretold in the rule of threes: first London elected Sadiq Khan, the son of a Pakistani bus driver, to be lord mayor, and then Waleed Aly (no relation) won the Gold Logie, Australia’s highest television honour. |
| “Here we go: trifecta,” she said. “Daughter of a bus driver, surname Aly.” | “Here we go: trifecta,” she said. “Daughter of a bus driver, surname Aly.” |