I have had many role models in my life but the people who continue to inspire me
everyday include my mother and father, my aunty Marnie, Florence Onus, Ms Andrea,
Fred Hollows, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. I owe my motivation and success to
these ordinary, everyday individuals who in my eyes have done and continue to do
extraordinary things.
My opinion about the current government includes a variety of mixed reviews. The
federal Labor Party has dug its own political grave by choosing to tackle climate
change; “the greatest moral challenge of our time.” Although I commend Julia Gillard
and the ALP for addressing this important issue, their selling of their most significant
policy has been appalling. The constant negativity and relentless attacks on Julia
Gillard and the ALP have further strengthened the peoples’ frustration and
disappointment of the Gillard government. So many other incidents involving Gillard of
which most occurred after she had assumed command of the ALP have also
accumulated within the minds of Australians today and in their anger and distress they
have stopped listening to Gillard and have abandoned the ALP altogether. I am sad to
say that I am one of the many, though not all Australians that have lost faith in the ALP.
The two most controversial policies which caused me to lose faith with the ALP is the
recently announced Refugee Swap Deal with Malaysia and Labor’s support of the 2007
Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER). Both policies contradict Labor’s
principles and their continued support and commitment to these racist and
unspeakable policies will continue to reveal their bigoted ideology and will ultimately
condemn and haunt them to their political graves.
Since a very early age I have possessed a great awareness and understanding of global
blemishes such as world poverty and hunger. Because of this I have developed a gift of
which I consider to be immensely valuable to me as a human being. This ideal gift is
empathy. Whilst sympathy limits a person to only understanding the feelings of
another person and adopting a similar emotional state, empathy is a more extreme
extent of empathy, in which a person vicariously feels the emotion of another person.
This can be both a blessing and a curse because although it allows for me to
psychologically connect with others, ultimately establishing a more personal and
profound connection, it can also sometimes cloud my judgement and deter me from
my desired outcome. I believe that the reason we have so many potential and
successful leaders within society is because a true leader has courage and conviction
and stands up for what they believe in. a true leader is prepared to be ridiculed,
criticized and dragged through the mud just to have their beliefs gain substance and
become a reality.
For as long as I can remember I have possessed a passion for learning. This has been
both a priority and a privilege, and continues to be evident in my unwavering
enthusiasm in numerous extra-curricular activities, leadership roles, and public
speaking and debating competitions. It has also translated into various educational
opportunities, community and school based events, as well as several other
educational and political engagements.