Maiden Speech

Member for Lalor Joanne Ryan has thanked the community for their support in her first speech in Parliament today.

"Thank you above all, to the electors of Lalor who gave me their precious vote – and to every elector of Lalor who took part in our great democracy on 7 September 2013," Ms Ryan said.

Ms Ryan also paid tribute to the Lalor electorate, congratulating the community on its spirit and work ethic.

"We are home to an ethic of service – we know how to help each other. We are home to an ethic of struggle – we know how to fight for what is right. And we love our people and our place."

"In Lalor, we know that fairness and opportunity are something that we have a responsibility to achieve for each other – we know that even in a great social democratic nation, society is not always fair – and that means we know that we have to take care of our own."

The importance of education was also raised, with Ms Ryan sharing her experiences as a teacher and principal and her intention to fight for local schools.

"Working in the classroom alongside those young people gave me such an opportunity to make a quality intervention and make a difference in a life."

"But I also come to fight for the future… To fight for our schools and for our students."

"I will fight to ensure that promises are kept and that the future of our kids – whether they be in Woolwich or Werribee - is not determined by their postcode."