ELLA HADDAD & ANNE RIPPER
When Ella Haddad’s marriage broke down several years ago and she was forced to move back in with her mother, she felt like a failure. Ella had two young daughters, was working full-time and had to adjust quickly to life as a single parent while trying to make ends meet.
But the now 40-year-old Labor MP says it was the unwavering support from her mother Anne Ripper that got her through the tough time and enabled her to re-establish her work and family life and eventually pursue a career in politics.
And Ella says it’s beautiful to see the close relationship her daughters Charlotte, 12, and Lucy, 9, have formed with their grandmother as a result of that early upheaval.
“I moved home with Mum for two years when I was in my early 30s, which felt at the time like I’d just failed at being an adult,” Ella says. “But I was so lucky to have that support.”
She eventually found her feet again, settling into her own home in Lenah Valley with her girls and her new partner.
The political newcomer won a seat in the Hobart electorate of Denison in the March State Election, after knocking on more than 10,000 doors during her campaign.
Again, Ella credits her mum – a Department of Education director – for helping her succeed. “Mum took leave for the campaign and was there for anything I needed,” Ella says. “Dropping off the girls and picking them up, and taking them to after school activities. It’s really nice having a mum who you know can just completely step into your role without any special instructions. She’s very much a part of their lives.”
Ella’s dad George Haddad was born in Beirut and migrated to Australia in the 1960s. He settled in Melbourne where he met Anne, and they had two daughters – Ella and her younger sister Alex.
The couple worked in other people’s restaurants in Melbourne but longed to start a business of their own. Which is how they ended up in Tasmania, running Ali Akbar for many years, a popular Lebanese eatery, which was one of the first on North Hobart’s restaurant strip.
Ella turned seven shortly after her family moved to Tasmania. She says the plan was to stay in Tasmania for five years but the family loved it so much they stayed. Although her parents have been divorced for 20 years they remain firm friends, which she admires.
Both Ella’s parents hail from large families – her mum is one of eight children and her dad is one of nine – so she grew up surrounded by cousins, aunts and grandparents. She describes her 93-year-old grandmother, Anne’s mum, as an “amazing force” and feels fortunate to have had such strong women in her life.
However, she won’t be making too much fuss on Mother’s Day, preferring a quiet family catch-up rather than exchanging expensive gifts. “It sounds a bit cliched,” Ella says. “But both my parents have always said, ‘you should be nice to your parents every day, not just on one particular day of the year.’”