Lemauga Lydia Sosene delivers Parliamentary maiden statement
History was made again with a new Pasifika Member of Parliament joining the largest ever Pacific caucus in Aotearoa's parliamentary history. It will now have a total of 11 Members of Samoan, Tongan, Cook Island and Tokelauan descent.
Lemauga Lydia Sosene was sworn in at Parliament on Tuesday afternoon. She joined the Labour Party in 2000 and was the highest-ranked Labour list candidate who was not elected at the 2020 election. She replaces Louisa Wall who resigned recently.
Born and raised in South Auckland, Sosene hails from Māngere and has been a strong advocate for Pacific communities during her 12 year background in local body affairs. She was elected to the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board in the 2010 local elections and spent the last 9 years as the Chair.
“My parents dream was that I served my community, to know where I come from and to know where I am going. They both had service backgrounds and they didn’t have much, so to become a Member of Parliament to serve Aotearoa is very humbling,” Lemauga Lydia Sosene said.
“I am excited to join a Government that cares about the future of this country and to be able to play my part to help improve the lives of all New Zealanders.”
Last night she delivered her parliamentary maiden statement which is a major milestone for any new Member of Parliament, marking the first time they speak in the House debating chamber, and the official beginning of their Parliamentary career.
Lemauga Lydia Sosene used her maiden speech to talk about the hopes and aspirations she has for her time in Parliament and what she hopes to achieve.
“As a proud Samoan woman raised in Aukilani New Zealand, it is my hope that I will make a lasting contribution, to work hard and to strive for solutions on some of the Government’s key priorities,”
Sosene spoke of the importance of her upbringing in making her who she is today, including helping to shape the beliefs and values that prompted her to enter Parliament and to dedicate over a decade to her previous roles in local government.
“Our parents protected us by ensuring our daily needs were cared for. They both worked hard up to 3 jobs weekly and sacrificed much for us kids, but we were expected to help out. Some troubled youth from our local church families came to live with us, and my mother instructed us to care for them. Those were the lessons my siblings and I learnt. To care for one another and to serve our community with the best resources we had at that time,”
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Watch her full speech in the video below -