Julia Banks (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is with much pride that I rise today to discuss the Turnbull government's changes to the Adult Migrant English Program, which aims to promote and support the learning of English language skills through the provision of timely quality English language services. The primary objective of the program is to produce outcomes in relation to social participation, independence, personal and economic wellbeing, all of which contribute to successful settlement into the broader Australian community.

The government announced changes to the AMEP that provide a business model that places greater emphasis on English language proficiency for work, education and participation in the community, to build on our being the most successful multicultural nation on this earth. Two streams of tuition will now be available within a client's 510-hour entitlement: the pre-employment English stream and the social English stream. The nature of the pre-employment stream is to deliver English language tuition in the context of life in Australia, specifically in the workplace, and to provide skills for further education The nature of the social English stream is to deliver English language tuition in a less-formal setting to enable people to independently participate in the community. AMEP providers are based across my electorate of Chisholm—in Box Hill, Chadstone and Oakleigh, which people can readily access.

In Chisholm, over 136 languages are spoken every day, so some would not blink an eye at the following scene that took place in Box Hill, but that, for me, made memories come flooding back. A young child was alternating between speaking Mandarin and English, acting as interpreter for whom I assumed to be her grandmother. The scene took me back to when I was about the same age, in the early 70s. I got on the bus with my grandma, of Greek heritage, and an aggressive overbearing bus driver yelled at her to 'speak English' to tell him our location. Intuitively, my child's voice blurted it out, and I felt relieved and empowered that I had saved the day for my grandma, and, more importantly, I had stopped my grandmas obvious intense anxiety. My maternal grandparents settled in Australia in the 1930, so this event happened well over thirty years on but my grandma still could not speak English . Grandpa could though, as he was the front man for their small business.

This is a typical Australian migrant story that, unfortunately, remains relevant today. Grandma was like many migrant women then and to this day who stay in the home, behind the scenes, and not in situations that compel them to speak or learn English. Consequently they often cannot pursue financial independence, actively participate in the workforce, access services, or learn to drive. Their independence is significantly restrained.

There are many migrants, particularly women, who are likely still in this predicament. Our ageing population necessarily includes an ageing migrant population. Speaking to my constituents in Chisholm, one of the most worrying concerns for them is the isolation felt, particularly by their mothers and grandmothers as their partners have passed away, which is enhanced by the fact that they cannot speak English.

Those on the other side who are struggling to find the negatives in the Turnbull government's new citizenship reforms have their blinkers on and their arguments do not make sense. 'Oh, there are so many people who are Australian citizens now who have made a contribution and who wouldn't have passed the English test. It ain't broke, so don't fix it.' Indeed, it 'ain't broke'. We are the most successful multicultural nation on earth. This is not about fixing something; rather, it is a concept that builds on our liberal democracy, of what would be described in the business world as 'continuous improvement', upon which the Turnbull government is delivering.

These reforms are aligned to a modern Australia. Moreover, in a modern Australia our values do not condone anything that undermines women's equality to men. In certain other countries they do, and they still do: forced marriages, genital mutilation, permission for violence against women.

Part of the beauty and vibrancy of Australia's diversity is that we can freely and openly express our different cultures through different languages, the key source of communication between people. However, speaking English is intrinsically linked to our Australian culture and way of life and therefore a necessary skill. Equal opportunity for men and women is a hallmark of Liberalism and the modern overlay of requiring people to pass an English test is a core element of our citizenship reforms. It aligns to the fact that the ability to speak English is key to integrating into our community and participating in the workforce. It creates independence and enables access to any services.

Disagreeing with change or reform for the political sake of it, as Labor does on a daily basis, does nothing to protect our great nation for future generations. The Turnbull government's strengthening of our citizenship laws are pragmatic and sensible reforms, whilst harnessing the integrity of a multicultural Australia. They convey that to call Australia home, and to be part of our Australian family, one must be able to speak our language, obey our laws and respect our values.

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