Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to pay tribute to the Vietnamese community in the seat of Fraser. Australia has around 300,000 people from a Vietnamese background and roughly 10 per cent of that number live in Fraser. This is a very vibrant and extraordinary community, and that was on display at the many Lunar New Year festivals that were held over the last few weeks in my electorate. It is also a very giving and selfless community. No other group in my community has raised more funds for the Joan Kirner Women's and Children's Hospital than the Vietnamese community—hundreds of thousands of dollars over many years. This is from a group of people often who don't have that much money themselves.

I also want to pay tribute to the Indochinese Elderly Refugees Association, which held a remarkable lunch not long ago that I had the privilege of attending. This is an organisation that supports dozens of elderly refugees in my electorate. At the lunch that I attended, many men and women who have been in this country for many decades received certificates celebrating 80th and 90th birthdays, and one woman received a certificate for a 100th birthday. In fact, one woman received a certificate for a 110th birthday. I celebrated my 50th birthday recently. So, fortunately, I was at an event which made me realise that there are some years to go. It also gave me pause to reflect on the remarkable contribution these refugees have made over decades in this country and how we should be paying more respect to refugees more generally, given what a great example this community is. (Time expired)

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