In her first speech to the federal parliament as the new member for Goldstein,Daniel recalled the horror of witnessing the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan,which left thousands dead across the Philippines – an experience that would play into her decision to run for politics a decade later.
“As a journalist and foreign correspondent,I have seen all manner of climate-related disasters. Nothing before or since compares to the scenes in Tacloban,flattened by a storm surge that destroyed 90 per cent of the city,” Daniel said as she addressed the House of Representatives on Tuesday night.
“Bodies in the streets,cars in trees,giant boats atop buildings and,amid the rubble,the shattered lives of residents.
“This event was a turning point for me,a realisation of the impact climate change and its increasingly unmanageable weather events would have on communities.”
Daniel enters the 47th parliament as one of six female “teal” independent MPs,backed by Simon Holmes a Court’s Climate 200 fundraising juggernaut,who ousted Liberal men in safe seats on a platform demanding urgent and ambitious action on climate change. Daniel defeated assistant minister Tim Wilson to become the first independent to hold the Melbourne seat and the first woman to represent the electorate dating back to 1901 when it was known as Balaclava.
She resigned from the ABC in 2020,ending a three-decade reporting career that repeatedly took her to the frontlines of climate-related natural disasters.