STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Ms LE (Fowler) (13:30): I'm really happy to stand here and to share some of the cultural activities that took place in my community in Fowler last Sunday. I joined Club Marconi in Bossley Park to mark the Italian Australian community's celebration of Italian Republic Day, which this year was the 80th anniversary of the Italian Republic. It was really great to be surrounded by Club Marconi's board, Mayor Frank Carbone and our community there as we marked this very important culture and tradition in our community.

I also went to Chipping Norton to join in with the Alawite Muslim community for their market day, organised by the BaytulHuda house of guidance, a not-for-profit volunteer organisation supporting the Alawite families to practice their faith, preserve their Arabic language and their culture. It brought the young people together and small businesses together to showcase what the community are doing in Chipping Norton.

As we all know, my electorate of Fowler is very multicultural, so organisations such as BaytulHuda play a very vital role in strengthening social cohesion and building understanding across different communities. They believe very much that their organisation is there to bridge their communities with the wider Australian community in the electorate of Fowler. I would like to thank the leaders, elders and teachers and stallholders and volunteers at the BaytulHuda house of guidance.