The only Frenchman ever to enter the Australian Parliament has done it again.Labor's Bernie Ripoll - in the Ipswich-based seat of Oxley - has trounced his opponents with a 7.4% swing.
On the overnight count, Bernie Ripoll secured 40,331 votes to the Liberals 21,668, followed by the Greens and a particularly poor performance by Family First.Oxley is the seat won by Bill Hayden in 1961 for the Labor Party and, for a short time from 1996 to 1998, by One Nation's Pauline Hanson.
Bernie Ripoll has now turned Oxley into a Labor stronghold with 64.5% of the vote, a margin built up by hard work and understanding his community.
The 5-year old little boy from France who landed in Australia 36 years ago - unable to speak a word of English - has been remarkably impressive as one of our nation's rising political stars.
The 5-year old little boy from France who landed in Australia 36 years ago - unable to speak a word of English - has been remarkably impressive as one of our nation's rising political stars.
