There's a moment just as you wake. It doesn't happen every morning, but on those mornings when something significant has changed in your life, there's an inch of time after waking, when you take a breath before the cloak of your new identity washes back. It was there the morning after the election, with warp speed - like force, and left me awash with gratitude for the trust placed in me as the first Labour Party member to hold the Upper Harbour seat. I can't claim the privilege of being the first MP of Sri Lankan descent. Thanks to the speedy work of the Parliamentary Library, I quickly discovered that that privilege belongs to the Hon Annette King. However, I am the first Sri Lankan - born member of New Zealand's Parliament, and I'm incredibly humbled to be joining a values-based, not to mention enormous, Labour caucus. I'm also proud to serve under the leadership of the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, or, as my kids call our extraordinary Prime Minister, "your work friend". She's someone I deeply respect and admire. 