DEEPAK-Raj Gupta stood up with all the love and joy when he gave his maiden speech at the Legislative Assembly this morning (July 30), but he said there was also emptiness inside him.

The new ACT Labor member for Yerrabi was brought to tears, and so was some in the crowd, when he spoke about his late parents not being there to see him sworn in.

“It’s a dream of any child to see their parents proud and for them and to see them achieve your dream,” said Deepak, 53, of Gungahlin.

And a dream it was for Deepak, who has now officially filled the spot of senior Labor minister Meegan Fitzharris following her shock resignation in June. 

In his speech he thanked the hard work of Ms Fitzharris and said he will continue on with her legacy in the Gungahlin area. 

He also said he will use his position to focus on small businesses and multiculturalism in the region. 

“For the past few weeks I’ve been sitting down with small businesses in the Gungahlin region and talking to them,” Deepak said.

“The Labor party is the party of jobs and strong economic management and these are values I will continue to advocate.”

Indian-born, Deepak says he will focus on the multicultural community too.

“I’m really proud to stand in the chamber as an Australian-Indian,” he said. 

“According to the Australian census in 2016, 26 per cent of people were born overseas or had recently arrived.”

More broadly, Deepak, who has seen Gungahlin grow alongside his two children for almost two decades, said he promises to listen to the Gungahlin region and be their voice.

“I’m determined to bring tangible change to my community,” he said. 

“I’ve always been passionate about working for my community and I joined the Labor party so I could continue to contribute to it.” 

Deepak turns right and calls for a ministerial voice