Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I rise this morning to speak about a very memorable meal that I recently enjoyed with the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs at Parliament on King, in Newtown. Parliament on King is a terrific cafe on King Street, Newtown. I really urge people who are visiting Sydney to drop in and have a look, because it's got a very warm, welcoming atmosphere and some of the best food around. What makes the restaurant even more special is that the food is prepared by asylum seekers and refugees who are getting their first start in the hospitality industry.

For the past seven years, Parliament on King has been training recent asylum seeker arrivals in hospitality skills like food preparation, coffee making and customer service. So far they have trained 350 people, welcomed them in, helped them get ready for work in a new country and allowed these, mostly, women to find a supportive network here in Australia as well. The owners, Ravi and Della Prasad are incredible people. Ravi was working in advertising and had an epiphany. He decided that he wanted to do something with a bit more meaning in his life. They have got huge hearts, and they're making a huge difference in our community. We could all learn something from their philosophy, which is 'open hearts, open doors'. As you would expect, they were very gracious hosts. The minister and I got to meet some recent graduates of the program: Bebe Baker, Asma Khan and Hani Abdilie. They cooked the most amazing meal for us. It was really terrific. I got some to take home with me as well. I couldn't have enjoyed it more.

The minister for immigration and I were absolutely delighted to tell Ravi and his team that his restaurant had received a federal grant as part of the Economic Pathways to Refugee Integration Grants program. The grant, worth $557,000, is to support the First Shift Ready program. That will support 30 newly arrived female refugees by helping them learn English and helping remove barriers to employment. It's a wonderful program and very worthy of government assistance. For anyone listening, you can also help Parliament on King directly. You can drop in and eat and support it that way, or you can support them financially. It's worth knowing that Parliament on King also donates food they cook to homeless Australians. It's a wonderful cause and you can find out how to support them on their website.

Congratulations to all of the graduates who have been through this fantastic course. We all know what a difference getting a job makes to people's life chances and to their feelings of integration in Australia.

See this speech in context