Victorian politics This article is more than 10 months old

‘She said yes’: with no French getaway on the cards, Victorian MP Nathan Lambert proposes in parliament

This article is more than 10 months old

Applause erupts from both sides of the chamber after Labor MP’s romantic gesture in his first speech

Amid a busy parliamentary schedule, new Victorian Labor MP Nathan Lambert could not see any romantic “French holidays” on the horizon to pop the question to his partner.

Instead he seized his first speaking moment in the Victorian parliament to propose to Noah Erlich, sparking scenes of joy.

“I think we should get married,” he said to Erlich, triggering both sides of the chamber to erupt into applause during his maiden speech.

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“I won’t bring a ring out now, because I’m not allowed to have any props.

“But it’s securely stored at the moment and I am planning in fact to bring it out very romantically tonight in the roughly 10 minutes between the kids falling asleep and us collapsing of exhaustion.”

Lambert – who represents the northern Melbourne electorate of Preston – said he wanted to make the proposal “special” but amid Covid and a parenting schedule decided to opt for making the romantic gesture within the halls of power.

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“There were no French holidays planned or other things people might traditionally do,” he told Guardian Australia.

“This seemed like the opportunity.”

The father of two presented Erlich with a ring after his maiden speech.

“She said yes which was pretty great,” he said.

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Lambert said the couple indulged in glasses of champagne after putting their two children to bed.

“It panned out exactly as the speech somewhat jokingly suggested,” he said.

Lambert holds the electorate of Preston on a margin of 2.09% after a heavy swing against Labor at the November state election.

He previously worked as the national secretary of the Labor party between 2011 and 2015 and most recently served as an executive director in the Victorian public service. Erlich is also a former Andrews government staffer.

Last month, Liberal upper house MP Joe McCracken used his maiden speech to come out as gay, saying it had taken him “a long time” to come to terms with his sexuality.

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