Even with such auspicious beginnings, one wonders if the family would have guessed that in only one generation, their granddaughter and daughter, Daniela De Martino MP, would stand in Parliament House on 20th December, 2022 to deliver her Inaugural Speech as a new Victorian member of Parliament.
De Martino is the member for Monbulk in the east of Melbourne. It is an area known for its natural bush beauty which includes the Dandenong Ranges, Ferntree Gully, Boronia and the Basin. An area more recently devasted by storms and fires. Also, an area which she, her partner Mike and their two children have called home for many years.
De Martino has been shaped by her family’s immigration experience. Her papa`, Paul, was 17 years old when he found himself immigrating with his parents and two siblings from Naples. Her nonni made the difficult decision to leave their family and homeland to seek out a better, more peaceful life. Just as her mother’s family who had come out earlier from a small town in Treviso. Both families had a long road ahead as they navigated learning a new language and culture, as well as carving out a sense of place in Australia.
De Martino’s mother, Renata, was born in Australia soon after her parents arrived. Renata’s father, Rodolfo Bonora, a tailor by background, had already emigrated and worked two jobs in order to save enough money to return, collect his family and bring them to Melbourne. At 23 years of age, Renata found herself in hospital with her newborn, surrounded by staff who only spoke English, and needing to adjust to motherhood in a new land.
The De Martino family on a picnic in the Dandenong Ranges circa 1981
In speaking with the relatively new member of Parliament, there is no doubt that her family’s history, courage, and sense of adventure influenced her in her own life trajectory. She too travelled as young woman. De Martino had a thirst for travel and expanding her knowledge of the world. During her second year in her Bachelor of Arts course at the University of Melbourne, she travelled to Manchester, England, on an exchange program. There she engaged with courses in European Politics and Gender Politics.
Manchester was a long way from home and De Martino, at only 20 years of age, found the experience both exciting and enriching. She was the first in her family to attend university, for which she is grateful knowing that the opportunity was a direct result of her family’s hard work and choices to create a better life for their children. Her parents encouraged her to take up education, something that they were not able to pursue in the aftermath of war.
Education was a calling which led her to her first professional role as a teacher. She went from working in the family business to working as a secondary school teacher of English, history and geography.
De Martino is passionate about education and learning. In fact, she encouraged her own mother to pursue studies which led to them both sitting in the same Italian language lectures (her mother enrolled to learn standard Italian as part of a Centre of Adult Education course). She states that,
education is the doorway to a world of opportunities. I will always passionately support every endeavour to improve education for all – from our youngest pre-schoolers to children throughout their schooling years, to adults retraining for new work opportunities.
Alongside her thirst for education came a sense of community and civic responsibility. De Martino laughs as she exclaims, “not hard to guess where my sense of fairness and equity comes from”. Her nonni were active volunteers and members of her family were involved in the first years of the Lygon Street Festa. In fact, her cousin Claudia was a director for several years.
As a result of her family’s “working class ethics” and energetic commitment to community, she became curious and engaged in issues that impacted societal life around her. She joined Young Labor in secondary school and was often found taking part in deep discussions around policy, inequity, exploring and developing place-based solutions. A few years later, this led to a campaign to upgrade Emerald Secondary College.
Notwithstanding developing a political consciousness and sense of activism from an early age, De Martino did not ever conceive of a life in politics,
I never thought there would be a place for me in Parliament. In the nineties political representation was different. Now nearly two thirds of Cabinet are women. Labor has reached equal gender representation. Parliament is a place I am happy and comfortable to be in.
Another formative experience came as a result of taking up a role at the national office of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) as an industrial officer. There she focussed on securing better conditions and remuneration for workers. She worked alongside a friend for many years, her now colleague the Hon. Liz Blandthorn.
Her experience back in Manchester was pivotal for many reasons. It provided first-hand experience of a country with, at the time, no legislated minimum wage, which led to her working almost two hours at a local pub to be able to purchase a toothbrush. Further, to meeting her life partner, Mike, who has been her “rock” during some tough times.
Mike migrated to Australia where they started their family. After several years, they both opened a local organic store in response to a shared concern over sustainability and chemical-based processing of food items. For them, their store is one way to achieve to their shared vision of “mitigating environmental challenges and ensuring a cleaner world for generations”.
Daniela De Martino with her family
De Martino knows she brings a unique brand of politics to her role, one very much grounded in who she is and where she has come from. She also has a sense of the privilege afforded to her as the representative voice of her constituents, “As politicians we must always ensure we remain approachable and in touch with community.”
De Martino explains she is determined to make a difference during her term in office. She pays tribute to the hard work of her predecessor, the Hon. James Merlino for whom she has very high regard. Merlino left Parliament after 20 years and had been Deputy Premier so has been able to provide Daniela with insights into political life. Importantly, he offered her assurance: “He helped me understand there is a place for me in politics and has encouraged me to take my place at the table. I now honour that position and the capacity it affords me to represent my constituents and the broader community.”
The road to Parliament House seems to have taken a few twists and turns, De Martino’s only regret is that her father passed away a few years ago and was not able to see her take her place in Parliament. “He would have loved it. He was deeply committed to social equity and was deeply interested in politics.” She goes on to explain that, “My responsibility is to improve the lives of all. This desire is at the core of my beliefs. I believe we should leave this place better than we found it.”
De Martino’s pride in her Italian heritage is quite obvious. In fact, she has stepped forward to lead the formation of the bipartisan Parliamentary Friends of Italy in Victorian Parliament.
Parliament is not quite like a “moon landing” for a woman these days. However, there is a lot of work to be done and De Martino stands resolute in her mission to make a difference.
