NEW MP REVEALS FAMILY’S BATTLE

NEW Labor Gold Coast MP Meaghan Scanlon has used her maiden speech in State Parliament to open up about the struggle of her losing her father, and her mother’s fight to educate her intellectually disabled brother. Queensland’s youngest elected MP revealed the reasons for her passion to promote education and protect Queensland’s frontline service workers. Ms Scanlon’s younger brother Callum has Down syndrome. When she was a teenager she lost her father Phil, a police officer, but until now has kept private how her family struggled during the years. The young Labor lawyer talked about her personal life after thanking Year 7 teacher Mick Beard, who was in the public gallery. “However, my brother’s experience in the education system was very different to mine,” Ms Scanlon said. “My dad battled with melanoma for many years and died when we were early in high school. That left my mum (Margaret) to juggle her workload and raise two children, one with an intellectual impairment. “While she (mum) acknowledges that my brother will not reach the same level as his peers, he deserves the right to knowledge and to be afforded the dignity that education and work provide. “There were many occasions where she had to fight for that right and was made to feel as though she was a burden for simply asking for her child to be provided with the foundations to allow him to participate meaningfully in society.”

Her family background also strongly influenced her thinking about “listening to community” and governments falling into the trap of having “callous disregard” for people’s jobs. After doorknocking a large part of her Gaven electorate, Ms Scanlon said she knew many people who were on low wages and worried about cuts to penalty rates.

“I heard from many people who are living pay cheque to pay cheque. The Gold Coast is often seen for its glitz and glamour, however there are many people in my electorate doing it tough.”