QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Prime Minister) (14:49): I thank the extraordinary member for Barton, and I thank her for the work she does with the many multicultural groups in her electorate, which borders mine. This morning I had the great pleasure of speaking to the Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia. What FECCA does is embody the spirit of a country that has long offered migrants the gift of opportunity.
It's an offer that migrants have, in turn, responded to with extraordinary energy and initiative. Migration plays an essential role in our country and throughout our lives, from maternity wards to the nursing home and every stage in between, because migration adds to our prosperity and builds our strength. The people that migration has brought us work hard and they pay taxes.
They add to the bottom line and they lift our ambitions as a country by expanding our sense of possibility. They underpin our world-class health system in particular, with their skill and their stamina, from doctors right down to orderlies and nurses and the people in aged care—which, simply, without migration, would really struggle to fill those positions. They boost our economy.
They have entrepreneurial spirit. More than a third of small-business owners in Australia were born overseas, and the common link is a profound enthusiasm to be part of the great Australian story. That was a theme of the conference that's taking place here, in this building, today.
People have come from all over the world but are loyal to Australia and want to be part of the Australian story. It's a story that we are writing the next chapter on as we speak, a story that we'll continue to write for generations and a story that, at a time when the world is so troubled with conflict based upon religion and people looking for differences, we can be a microcosm for the world, because, overwhelmingly, people live in harmony here, in Australia.
We're enriched by our diversity and people being able to celebrate who they are, practice their culture, practice their language, bring all their food and everything else that they bring—dancing and music—here, in Australia, but at the same time are loyal to Australia. Migration has helped power Australia's growth and development. Ultimately, through hard work, aspiration and a love of country, migrants do something wonderful.
They become Australians. They become us and who we are. Our conversation about immigration should be in these terms.
We need sensible discussion about immigration. That's fine. What we should not do is use immigration to stir up division or to say to people that the reason why their lot in life isn't as good as they think it should be is because of someone who isn't just like them.
It is un-Australian— (Time expired)