Grace Tame has published the text she wrote to Australia’s new prime minister shortly after he was elected.
After Anthony Albanese defeated Scott Morrison, the 2021 Australian of the Year informed him, “The nation is counting on you.”
Ms Tame, 27, was also ‘humbled’ by former foreign minister Julie Bishop’s remarks that she played a role in Mr Morrison’s electoral setback.
Ms Bishop earlier stated, “(Liberal women) did not perceive their concerns and interests reflected in a party governed by Scott Morrison in collaboration with Barnaby Joyce.”
Female ‘teal’ independent candidates, who ran on a platform of equality, climate policy, and a federal corruption watchdog, snatched seats away in Liberal strongholds such as Wentworth.
Ms Bishop said seeing female, independent candidates claiming victory in formerly strong Liberal seats sent a powerful message.
‘The impact of Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins, they changed the narrative… That resonated with women,’ she said.
But Ms Tame on Monday downplayed her ‘friendship’ with Mr Albanese and said she was just relieved the Coalition government was voted out.
She has regularly been critical of Mr Morrison for not standing up for women more.
‘It’s not necessarily he (Mr Albanese) was my preferred Prime Minister… what Anthony Albanese does in terms of action is remains to be seen,’ she told Studio 10.
‘The hope is that that these commitments – implementing the entirety of the Respect@Work report and action on climate change are carried out.
‘It’s not just about Labor, about Anthony Albanese, it’s about a very different system of government, of leadership where we have diversity, because I think that actually best echoes Australia, diversity.’
Ms Tame also shot down a suggestion from the hosts that she could make a political run herself.
‘I have no interest in it. I have always maintained my independence and I am a longtime swing voter. I believe in agitating from the outside,’ she said.
‘Politics… people go in with a lot of ambition and a lot of good intention but it is a slow process from what I can see.
Lots of back-and-forth, two steps forward one step back. And in a lot of cases they have to compromise to get things done.
‘You have to work with people you don’t necessarily agree with, that’s what makes a robust and healthy democracy.
‘But I believe in agitating from the outside. I would rather be on the outside and work and co-operate with these people.’
About a month ago, Ms Tame interviewed Mr Albanese for InStyle Australia.
Mr Albanese candidly shared the tough decision his mother had to make when she fell pregnant out of wedlock in the 1960s, as it was ‘the fashion of the day’ that babies would not be kept by either parent.
‘The most important role model that I had was my mum,’ he said.
‘I was going to be adopted out… in 1963, when I was born, it was acceptable to be a widow but it wasn’t acceptable to be an unmarried mother.’
Mr Albanese said despite the challenges that lay ahead, his mother made the decision to raise him on her own and give him his father’s surname.
His father had told his mother that he planned to marry a woman from his Italian home town.
‘She was a strong woman who made the decision to have me, and to raise me by herself,’ Mr Albanese said.
‘She worked originally when I was a bub, cleaning office buildings at night, looking after me during the day, she then had rheumatoid arthritis and was really crippled up.’
He said their two person family, ‘just me and her’, was ‘particularly close’.
‘It’s one of the things that has focused me and (is) a part of who I am,’ Mr Albanese said.
She always respected everyone and I grew up with the confidence of having a mum who lived a lot of her aspirations through me. She couldn’t work. And so she’s the most important role model in my life and she’s very much still part of who I am today.’
His answer left Ms Tame and fiancé Max Heerey in tears.
‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you there,’ Mr Albanese told her.
Ms Tame said she started crying because she respected his answer ‘so much’.
‘Max is crying! Oh, I want to give you a hug,’ she said.
Mr Albanese said his experience contradicted a common argument used against legalising same-sex marriage.
‘So when, like, the marriage equality debate was on, for example, and one of the things that some of the opponents said was, you know, you need a mum, a dad and two kids — that’s a family,’ he said.
‘I hear that message and go, well, hang on, you know, families are diverse and made up of all sorts of different groups.’