Dickson MP Ali France honours late 19yo son Henry, credits him for her election win against Peter Dutton

News.com.au

7 days ago

The disabled, single mum who ended Peter Dutton's 24-year run in politics has shared the private battle behind her uphill campaign to unseat the former opposition leader at her third attempt.
Giving her inaugural speech in parliament, Ali France said that while the 2025 federal campaign was 'obviously my best,' she remained heartbroken over the death of her 19-year-old son Henry, who lost his battle to leukaemia in February 2024.
'The 2025 campaign was obviously my best, and that is quite a bizarre thing because behind the curtain I was grieving and desperately wanting to hold my son Henry,' she told parliament.
The 52-year-old became a Labor legend after she defeated Mr Dutton in the outer Brisbane seat of Dickson, a seat he had held since 2001.
While the electorate was one of the country's most marginal at 1.7 per cent, Ms France achieved a 7.7 per cent swing.
Ms France credited Henry, who she said was 'in another place, hopefully looking on with a big, wide smile,' as being 'instrumental' to her unexpected election win.
She also shared a private moment in the weeks before his death, when Henry was able to return home from hospital 'for a couple of nights'.
'He asked to sleep in my bed, next to his mum, like he did for years when he was little,' he said.
'I watched him breathe all night, in awe of him, his courage and his ability to smile every day despite unbelievable pain and the never-ending hospital stays and treatment.
'I am so grateful for those hours.'
She said her son told her she would win the seat of Dickson.
'He told me many times, that this election was my time. He was convinced I would win and said a number of times, 'don't make me the excuse for you not doing important things,' she said.
'His words, his courage, were with me every day of the campaign. Henry was instrumental in getting me to this place.'
Ms France also spoke about the 2011 car accident which resulted in the amputation of her leg.
The incident occurred in the after a car crashed into her, and pinned her against another vehicle.
At the time, Ms France was taking her youngest son Zac to a doctor's appointment, however she managed to push the child out of the car's path.
She referred to the incident as the 'day I was supposed to die,' and thanked her trauma surgeon Martin Wullschleger, the bystanders and staff at the Royal Brisbane Hospital for saving her life.
'Martin's split-second decision to amputate my leg with a makeshift tourniquet saved me and ensured my kids had their mum,' she said.
'We kept in touch, Martin is in the gallery.'
Ms France said that while she was told she was 'unlikely to ever work again,' she owed her recovery to a 'refugee (orthopaedic) surgeon from Iraq', Professor Munjed Al Muderis, who successfully completed a 'groundbreaking and risky' osseointegration surgery, which at the time had only been completed 25 times.
'I've now been walking for 11 years – with a little help from my wheelchair,' she said.
'Munjed is in the gallery. And I am so grateful you stepped outside the boundaries of what was thought to be medically possible at the time.
'I literally would not be standing here today without you.'
The Brisbane MP also paid a special tribute to Anthony Albanese and her former boss and Queensland premier Steven Miles, and referred to them as her 'greatest political believers'.
Notably the Prime Minister visited the seat of Dickson twice during the federal campaign, and began his election run in what was originally regarded as an unwinnable seat.
'When you're running for a third time, there will always be those who question if you're the right candidate,' she said.
'The Prime Minister and Steven have always been in my corner.
'Their support has meant I've continued to climb the mountain and succeed, when many others said I should step away.'