CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Ms CAMPBELL (Moreton) (10:09): On 7 June the dragon boats were out in force at the annual Hakka Dragon Boat Festival, and for the very first time it was held, proudly, in my electorate of Moreton, and we got to see dragon boats down the Brisbane River. As a very proud Australian with a Hakka ancestry, I think it is fantastic that this festival is now happening in my home.

Hakka Association President Tony Cheng organised a fantastic event. Dragon boat festivals are a 2,000-year-old tradition. It's very special.

We were down at Ken Fletcher Park with 12 dragon boat racing teams and 20 different cultural groups performing on stage. That reflects Moreton's diversity and the 15.4 per cent of Moreton constituents like me with Chinese ancestry. And tucked away into a hall in Acacia Ridge is the Urdu Forum language school.

On 7 June I got to visit them and their leadership, president Asad Basit and secretary Dr Naveed Kureshi. Their mission is a really simple one: to promote Urdu language and literature, with a very special emphasis on education. When I went there I got to meet students, parents, teachers and volunteers, who are doing absolutely fantastic work there.

I have a growing Indian community in Moreton—7,911 people and getting bigger every day. The community language schools are so important for preserving language and also preserving culture while strengthening social cohesion and community connections. Labor is providing $25 million to support 600 community schools across Australia that help more than 90,000 students to learn 84 languages.

I'm very proud to have one of the most resilient communities in this whole nation. And I'm proud because our community knows the drill when it comes to flooding, and we know the drill when it comes to making sure we help each other out. If you live in Oxley, Rocklea, Fairfield, Yeronga, Corinda, Sherwood, Willawong or the many more places that are often flood affected, you know we need to take action as a community.

I went to the Oxley Creek Flood Action Group meeting and acknowledged the work of Benarrawa, particularly Paula Callaghan, John Maume, Paula Hardie and Sandi Black. I commend their work trying to build a prepared, responsive, resilient and healthy community and to create neighbourhood disaster plans, particularly around Oxley Creek. And Community Plus in Yeronga, with their CEO, Mel, had a Community Home Resilience Expo, talking about practical ways to improve household resilience.

I commend their continuing work in this important area.