Kate Ellis (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment Participation and Childcare) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to congratulate a remarkable constituent from the electorate of Adelaide, Ms Megan Payne, who was one of the inaugural winners of the 2010 Prime Minister’s Australian Youth Forum Challenge. This challenge was a number of initiatives announced by our government to support action by young people for the priority areas identified in the first ever National Strategy for Young Australians. As a result of this there was a national competitive funding round. Ms Megan Payne was one of six young people awarded funding through the challenge to empower young people to be active change-makers within their own communities—for us to give the opportunity for young people themselves to change their own lives and to change the lives of those around them. Megan was awarded $15,000 for her project, which aims to support the engagement and inclusion of international students, migrants and new arrivals within our local community. There is something really refreshing at a time when so many choose to focus on that which divides us to see Megan putting her work into that which unites us and to making sure that there is an understanding, tolerance and a sense of community amongst all of those in our community from a range of different backgrounds.

With this funding, this Saturday Megan will be hosting the Youth Migrant Support and Celebration Day, where international students and migrants will be provided with a series of information sessions about services and customs in Australia. This will take place during the day. At night there will be a multicultural event of traditional food and dance to celebrate the diverse community which we are lucky enough to call home in Adelaide. We know that too often international students arrive in Australia with very little information or knowledge about our customs and culture and that this can lead them to feel isolated and to have a negative experience within Australia. We also know from the recent review into international students that there is exploitation in the workforce, safety concerns and a lack of access to support services. It is fantastic to see Megan’s work in empowering communities. Not only will this project benefit the many international students and migrants who attend on the day but Megan and her group, Uniting New Immigrants in Australia, are working to ensure that the aims of this project are sustainable in Adelaide, looking to make partnerships with other organisations to support international arrivals well into the future. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Megan as a young person who is passionate about our community and wish her all the best for a fantastic event on Saturday.

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