Inspiring journey of first Vietnamese-born parliamentarian in New Zealand
Raised by a family of mixed Vietnamese and New Zealand blood, Pham Thi Ngoc Lan became the first Vietnamese-born parliamentarian in the 54th New Zealand Parliament election last October.
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| Ms. Pham Thi Ngoc Lan standing next to her beloved bicycle. (Photo: Shanti Mathias) |
From an environmental student...
Pham Thi Ngoc Lan was born and raised in the Brooklyn suburb of Wellington. Her father is Vietnamese working in technology, and her mother is a New Zealander of Irish descent and works as a social worker.
From a young age, she received dedicated nurture from her parents, as well as perceived lots of knowledge about community values - which became the foundation for her later career.
After graduating with a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science from Massey University in 2009, she became aware of serious environmental degradation due to human agricultural and industrial exploitation, but the legal corridor was not strong enough to repel that urgent situation. Therefore, she decided to pursue a master's degree in Environment at the University of Otago.
During that time, Lan had the opportunity to deliver a speech on environmental issues to the committee on oil and gas drilling of New Zealand. Not long after, her speech resonated and was even quoted by parliamentarian Eugenie Sage.
She also actively participated in social activities and became a co-founder of the Working Waters Trust, to raise public awareness and attract charitable resources to protect freshwater environment.
... to a passionate politician
To launch her campaign for the Canterbury Regional Council, she did a year-long job on Raoul Island, where only 7 people settled. Ms. Lan and volunteers carried out weed eradication, as well as research on volcanoes and atmosphere.
At the same time, she actively made use of media to spread the message of environmental protection to the world.
In 2015, when the world witnessed many marches for climate, all 7 Raoul islanders also participated in the protest. She took a picture of that moment and the photo was later published by The Guardian.
In 2016, Ms. Lan was first elected as a member of Canterbury Regional Council with the highest number of votes locally (55,313 votes), under the name of a small party called "People's Choice". She was re-elected in the 2019 local election and appointed as Commissioner in charge of environmental issues.
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| Lecture on fresh water issues in Mount Pleasant. (Photo: Shanti Mathias) |
During her time working at Canterbury Regional Council, she actively proposed, discussed and implemented environmental solutions to create practical change for the sake of community. She repeatedly warned about oil and gas exploitation in Canterbury's coast.
At the same time, Ms. Lan rang the alarm bell on the government's ineffective water resource management since nearly half of the Canterbury region's river basins were overexploited. This went against one of the focuses of New Zealand's water policy - sustainable use of water resources.
Besides, she also spoke up about land use issues. Ms. Lan regularly emphasized the need to maximize land benefits, thereby allowing farmers to grow food and improve resilience to climate change.
Thanks to her influence, the administration increased spending on biodiversity projects from roughly $3 million to $38 million. However, in her opinion, money is not the only and most effective solution, because sometimes money does not bring the desired practical results.
After leaving Canterbury Regional Council, she joined the Office of the Chief Freshwater Commissioner holding responsibility for coordinating national freshwater management process, especially ensuring the full implementation of Te Mana o Te Wai freshwater policy.
Vietnamese-born parliamentarian with the spirit of "Just do it!"
After MP Elizabeth Kerekere left the Green Party in April, Ms. Lan decided to register as a candidate and eventually surpassed 2 incumbent MPs to enter the group of 6 candidates.
Thanks to favorable conditions, Ms. Lan, from the Banks Peninsula electorate (Canterbury Region), was officially named in the national election list within the framework of the 54th New Zealand Parliament held in October.
Ms. Lan made a big surprise when she gained success in her first election for Green Party. During the previous application process, she said that even though losing her voice due to anxiety, she still remained calm to answer questions from the panel.
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| Ms. Pham Thi Ngoc Lan and other candidates. (Photo: Shanti Mathias) |
In particular, her relatives showed enthusiastic support for this bold decision. Ms. Lan said that her father was very happy when she worked as the first Vietnamese-born parliamentarian.
In addition, colleagues also praised her experience working in local government. John Sunckell, member of Canterbury Regional Council, once emphasized that Ms. Lan has a passion and tireless enthusiasm for promoting community interests.
When asked by a Newsroom reporter about her ambition to become a minister or leader, she affirmed: "No matter what the next path is, I am ready."
At the same time, she underlined that she would devote herself and be willing to try new things with a courageous attitude: "Just do it!".
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