PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Mr NG (Menzies) (18:08): I'd like to speak in support of this motion and acknowledge my friend the member for Melbourne, who is also the co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Refugees. The work she continues to do in this space is a credit to her and to this parliament. A few weeks ago we celebrated Refugee Week.
It was a chance to acknowledge that, since the end of World War II, Australia has welcomed and settled over one million refugees. This is a remarkable legacy of generosity and compassion, of which we should all be very proud. In our last term of government, the Albanese Labor government increased refugee intake to 20,000 people per year.
This means that there are over 6,000 more people each and every year who will have the opportunity to come from dire circumstances to join our great nation—the greatest country in the world—and enjoy the freedoms and opportunities that that provides. The 1951 Refugee Convention arose from the horrors of the two world wars when people were displaced in record numbers.
The world came together to determine a just and compassionate way of giving people the right to claim asylum, as well as who nations owed protection to. In the Public Service, I was proud to work in migrant and refugee settlement and protection visa assessment for over a decade. As a result, I've had the great privilege of meeting many people who had to flee persecution because of fundamental parts of who they are.
A division having been called in the House of Representatives— Sitting suspended from 18:10 to 18:21 Mr NG: In the Public Service, I worked in migrant and refugee settlement and protection visa assessment for over a decade. As a result, I've had the great privilege of meeting many people who have had to flee persecution because of the most fundamental parts of who they are, and, to a person, they have all been incredibly grateful for having been granted asylum in Australia—to find somewhere where they can be safe and be free to practise their religion and express their political views, where women have equal rights and where people can love who they want to love and be free from persecution that arises because of their culture or where they were born.
We're also one of the best countries in the world at resettling refugees. When people arrive, we give them real support: linkages to essential services like banks and schools; English classes; help finding work; programs for young people; and community hubs. I would particularly like to acknowledge the Migrant Information Centre in Box Hill in my community of Menzies, who help resettle migrants and refugees in Melbourne's east.
In my time in the settlement program, we had people come from Canada, Japan and many other countries to learn from us about how we settle people successfully in this country. Hearing the stories of refugees and understanding just how lucky we are to live in Australia in this time and in this place in history has helped me to appreciate even more what a miracle we have in our democracy and in our mutual respect, pluralism and rule of law and in our commitment to a fair go.
It is something which we should cherish and something which we should always protect. A few things happened during Refugee Week. Locally in my community in Menzies, we had two citizenship ceremonies.
Citizenship ceremonies are one of the most affirming parts of the job that we're privileged to do. Seeing the happiness on people's faces when they take the citizenship pledge, that final step to fully joining our country, is one of the most joyous events that we get to take part in, and I've heard some new citizens describe it as the happiest day in their lives.
Many of the people in our citizenship ceremonies, of course, are from skilled or family visa backgrounds, but some would also be of refugee backgrounds. The theme of this year's Refugee Week is 'A Million Stories', and my community of Menzies is one of the places where that story lives. Our community is shaped by people who have arrived with very little and built something extraordinary—people from Vietnamese, Myanmarese or Iranian backgrounds, people who've learned languages, started businesses, raised their families, put their kids through our fantastic local schools and given back to the country that has given them safe haven.
Of course, many of us are enjoying the World Cup at the moment, and you only need to look at the Socceroos, who count amongst their number four players of refugee background, to see but one example of how much refugees have contributed to Australia. So we as Australians should be incredibly proud of our generous humanitarian and refugee program and the opportunity that we have to share the great country that we have with those who need it most.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Dr Haines ): The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is now adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made in order of the day for the next sitting.