As the first amputee in parliament, France spoke candidly about the life-altering accident that resulted in the loss of her leg and the subsequent battles with post-traumatic stress disorder. She highlighted the shift in people’s perceptions towards her as she navigated these challenges.

France was not the only Labor MP given the spotlight on the back of unseating a rival party’s leader.

Sarah Witty, who unseated Greens leader Adam Bandt in Melbourne during a challenging election for the party, also shared her emotional story. She and her husband Paul decided to become foster parents after facing difficulties in having biological children.

“I remember one day after a devastating (pregnancy) loss, my mum gently said to me, ‘Maybe you were meant to be a mum for all children’,” Witty said. 

“At the time her words hit a wall, I was too shattered to hear them or to let them in. 

“The ache was too fresh, too sharp, but her words stayed with me, and slowly, as the fog of grief lifted, I opened my heart and myself to a new path.”