Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to support this motion. I commend the member for Chifley for moving it. He and I represent an area of Western Sydney with a large subcontinent population, including people of both Sinhalese and Tamil background, and consequently this motion is of great interest to many of our constituents. Firstly, I am pleased to update the member for Canning, who has just spoken, on the latest 2011 census results in my electorate of Greenway, considering his claim in the parliament on 4 July 2011 that it was home to only 75 people of Tamil origin. I can inform him that, of the 50,151 Tamil speakers in Australia, Greenway alone is home to 4,203. Many of my constituents, including those of both Tamil and Sinhalese background, contacted me to express their rightful concern when, on 2 September, the shadow immigration minister and the shadow foreign minister, backed up by the Leader of the Opposition, stated that Australian authorities should send back asylum seekers to their country of origin, namely Sri Lanka, before assessing their claims.

As for the member for Canning's speech, there is a lot I could say, but I do not have much time. What I would like to say is that, by making a simple statement that the civil war in Sri Lanka is over and somehow all is right with the world, he really is saying essentially that every independent observer that has gone to this country and observed the atrocities that are still occurring—has observed what is happening in a very dire situation for many people of both Sinhalese and Tamil background—is making it up.

Mr Randall interjecting—

I have actually been to Sri Lanka, thank you, member for Canning. The dire circumstances in which these people are living, and those of all asylum seekers, must obviously be false!

You might like to tell that to people in my electorate whose relatives back home in Sri Lanka have disappeared since the end of the civil war. They have disappeared. They do not know what has happened to many of their relatives. These are people whom I deal with. These are people who tell me about the consequences in their homeland. So let's be clear about the relevant statements which appear to represent their new policy on refugees. They are very sensitive on this one.

Mr Randall interjecting—

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