Five Dock Press Gang Grill Sally Sitou, MP

Sally Sitou is the Member for Reid. She is responsible for the needs of her electorate and votes on policy changes that the people of her electorate care about.

On Tuesday 19 June, Sally Sitou visited the Five Dock Newsroom and Press Gang reporters had the opportunity to ask her questions.

We covered various topics such as, the new metro, cyberbullying, A.I. and much more.

Sally told us that when she was growing up there was a clear path for your life, you would go to school, if you studied hard you could go to Uni or TAFE and learn a skill.

“That pathway is so much harder for your generation.” She said. 

“So you could do everything. You could study hard, you can go to university, but have we made it too hard for you to get a job that pays well and gives you good conditions. ‘m not sure if we’ve done a good enough job there to set up the future for you.” 

Read more interview highlights below.

What inspired you to become an MP?

 I wanted to become a Member of Parliament because there were things that I cared strongly about. One was climate change and one was around education. So that was part of the reason – I wanted to see some change in our country.

There were also people who personally made me really interested in politics and I saw the amazing leadership that they showed. Politicians such as Julia Gillard and Penny Wong, and I used to work for Jason Claire, who’s now the federal Education Minister. I looked at them and I thought, ‘oh, there’s no way I’m going to be able to be like them. They’re just incredible’. But they really inspired me to become a Member of Parliament because of all the things that they were able to achieve and the changes that they were able to make.

What skills do you think young people like us should focus on to prepare us for the future?

We live in a time when there is more misinformation than ever, so your ability to question that and think, ‘oh, hang on a minute, that doesn’t seem right,’ is such an important skill. 

Some people call it Critical Thinking, but I think it’s questioning, it’s digging a little bit deeper, checking the facts and being curious about things. I think that’s really good valuable skill for you to have whatever job you are in. It’s great that you’re part of the Press Gang because you’re developing those skills early.

What do you like most about being an MP?

Well, things like this, I get to come out and meet really cool school students, and I get to meet people from so many different backgrounds who care really strongly about a particular area.

And then the other bit that I love about this job is when I get to really make a difference to someone’s life.