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Labor candidate Ali France has won Queensland’s seat of Dickson in her third campaign against Opposition leader Peter Dutton.
In his concession speech on Saturday night, Dutton said he had called France and said she will “do a good job as a local member”.
France is a single mother-of-two who has been working in the community for the past seven years.
She became passionate about pursuing politics after her experience navigating the healthcare system after being hit by a car as a pedestrian and losing a leg in 2011.
In March, France told SBS News that she felt like Dutton was “out of touch” with the needs of the Dickson community, including addressing traffic gridlock.
“He hasn’t supported any cost of living relief and that’s probably the biggest issue in this community”, she said.
“We’ve [Labor] delivered lots of cost of living relief, including tax cuts for all workers, free TAFE, cheaper childcare, cheaper medicines, invested a heap into Medicare.”
Last election, Dutton held his seat by a slim 1.7 percent — which made it
France has helped make history, as Dutton is the first Opposition leader to lose his seat during an election.
Prime ministers have lost their seats at elections before, notably former Liberal leader John Howard, who lost his seat of Bennelong in the 2007 election.
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