Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I've stood in this chamber many times to speak about the rich and proud diversity that the electorate of Lalor boasts. One of the defining traits of this diversity is the many languages other than English spoken by members of our fast growing community, which, I note, ticked over 250,000 people in the city of Wyndham in the last few weeks. In acknowledgement of International Mother Language Day on 21 February, I want to take a moment to reflect on the wonderful multilingual community I represent and the significance that native language has in the broader Australian community.

Firstly, the electorate of Lalor is a place where people from all over the world have come together to create a unique mixture of culture and language, where traditions are accepted, created and cherished. I have said this many times throughout my time as a federal member in this chamber, but it specifically rings true when we talk about the role of languages. Multilingualism brings our community opportunities to gain an appreciation of different cultures. Through language we can gain an understanding of the variety of experiences that make our community the vibrant multicultural place that it proudly is. But it goes further than this.

Language gives opportunity to participate in, revitalise and maintain a connection to the mother country from which the language originated. It provides an important and significant link in the ties between culture and history, between culture and place and between traditions of heritage and commitments to our future in our great multicultural democracy. There are abiding images in the schools in my electorate that acknowledge our diversity of heritage and language. In some cases there are maps of the world tracking where children hailed from. In Tarneit Secondary College's central foyer over 50 flags are draped from the ceiling in a stunning statement. We have an obligation to ensure that our children are learning mother tongue languages so that they are kept alive for generations to come.

There are many examples of schools and organisations that are already implementing programs which encourage multilingualism, and they ought to be commended for encouraging participation in learning languages. In my electorate we have a strong constituency of native Bangla speakers. For the local Bangladeshi community International Mother Language Day is special. The local Victorian Bangladeshi Community Foundation, led by President Nurul Islam Khan, celebrates their school's teaching of Bangla and acknowledges the impact of the loss of language often used by oppressors to wipe away cultural identity. The local Bangladeshi community know more than many that language is inherently connected to culture and identity.

Late last year I spoke in this place of the Victorian School of Languages, a government school under the guidance of Principal Frank Merlino, which is the largest language provider in Victoria and Australia. Since it first opened its doors, the VSL has played a vital role in ensuring that languages are taught to primary and secondary school aged students. Last year, I spoke specifically of how the VSL at Suzanne Cory campus implemented Karen classes for students, and I mention this again. It has been accredited at VCE level, and last year the first classes of VCE students sat the year 12 exam. This is a great achievement, one that is so important for the continuation of languages other than English being taught and passed down from generation to generation. Further, it is pleasing to note that 2018 will see an expansion of the VSL in Lalor. Just this Saturday, VSL ran its first Spanish, Macedonian, Malayalam, Russian and Telugu classes at Point Cook Senior College. These five languages are in addition to the eight languages already run by VSL in Lalor, including Karen, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Chinese, Tamil, Malay and Korean. I would like to give thanks to Ms Yris Becerra Silva, who has assisted in gathering community participation in the implementation of Spanish into VSL at the Point Cook campus.

Multilingualism provides social, cultural and economic benefits to our community in Lalor and the broader Australian community. We ought to be encouraging Australians to learn a language other than English, and the work of the VSL in this space is fantastic. I commend the work of the Victorian education department and the Victorian School of Languages in teaching languages other than English, but I note there are always ways to continue to revitalise education, and I would like to see links to Indigenous Australian languages made so that the important Indigenous languages are not lost. I note that in one of the schools in the neighbouring seat of Gorton there is an Indigenous language being taught. In the 18th century there were over 250 Indigenous Australian language groups. Today there are fewer than half that number. More than just used as a literary device of communication, language provides the opportunity to tell story; it provides a sense of identity. The link to this identity is fragile, and we must do everything we can to preserve it, to revitalise it. We must continue to promote active participation in Indigenous language and languages other than English so we can keep these stories and links to place, to past and to our family histories alive.

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