Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2025-2026
Ms JORDAN-BAIRD (Gorton) (19:21): I rise today to speak on the Albanese Labor government's commitment to multiculturalism. My electorate of Gorton in Melbourne's west is incredibly diverse. My community has one of the highest populations of first- and second-generation migrants in Australia.
More than 33 per cent of my electorate were born overseas. More than 30,000 of my constituents speak a language other than English at home. And we are growing fast.
In Fraser Rise and Plumpton, you'll find the second-highest population growth rate in the country. I'm incredibly proud to represent an electorate with so many families that have made the difficult decision to pack up and start a new life in Melbourne's west. Many of these families are settling in suburbs and estates like Aintree, Fraser Rise, Deanside, Mount Atkinson and Thornhill Park.
While they settle down in our wonderful suburbs, they continue to carry with them vibrant cultures and rich histories of migration. Unfortunately, we have to acknowledge a difficult reality: that those experiences are not always met with open arms and open minds. The anti-immigration protests we saw in recent weeks across Australia, targeting our Indian Australian communities, were abhorrent.
On the day of those protests, I had local temple leaders telling their community not to leave their homes because it was safer to stay indoors. In Australia, no-one should have their personal safety compromised. No-one should have to be told that it is unsafe to be in public places because they don't belong.
Our community will not be divided by people seeking to intimidate and to hate, because no-one in Australia should have to justify their belonging. Yet we have opposition members in this chamber who continue to tug at that question of belonging with offensive and racist remarks—remarks those members refuse to apologise for but we on the side condemn. What we do and what we say in and outside this chamber as a lasting impact.
On this side of the chamber, we know that it is not just what we say and what we do that matters; it's who we are. For the kids in my electorate sitting at home watching parliament and the news on TV, it means so much to see their own experiences reflected back at them and to hear names like Ambihaipahar, Soon, Ng, Ananda-Rajah, Abdo, Aly, Lim and Sitou. Having those names representing their country means so much.
This representation is a statement: you belong here. It's part of the reason I couldn't be prouder to stand in this chamber as part of our Labor government beside the Ambihaipahars and Alys of our Labor caucus, because in this, the 48th Parliament, we have the most multiculturally diverse government this nation has ever seen. We believe that every Australian, whatever their race or religion and wherever they or their parents were born, should be able to feel safe at home, without prejudice or discrimination.
That's why, for the first time, we have appointed a dedicated Minister for Multicultural Affairs and we have elevated that position into cabinet. In 2023-24 we invested $15 million to support 500 community language schools, helping over 90,000 students learn 84 languages across Australia, and we're investing an additional $25 million which will see thousands of children take up another language, fostering pride in their heritage and strength in their Australian identities.
In my electorate of Gorton we have committed $5 million for the construction of a brand-new community and education centre at the Sri Durga Temple in Deanside. Sri Durga Temple is the largest Hindu temple in the Southern Hemisphere. It's more than a place of worship; it is a cornerstone of our local community.
I was proud to attend their recent Dussehra festival on Sunday, celebrating the triumph of light over darkness. This $5 million investment will help the temple expand its vital work from food relief to cultural education, but it'll do more than just that; the $5 million investment in the Sri Durga Temple in Deanside will tell our constituents who attend the Sri Durga Temple across Gorton, Melbourne's west and all of Australia that you belong here, and our diverse wonderful Labor government will always send that message home.