Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Today I rise proudly to speak on the Albanese Labor government's strong support for multicultural communities and the importance of our wonderful and diverse communities in McEwen. Of course, we are all part of the story of multiculturalism in Australia. There are only two kinds of people in this country: Indigenous Australians and migrants. Some have come by choice; some have come by chains. However, the values that we share, such as mateship, fairness, equality, justice, inclusion and compassion, continue to write the story of what it is to be Australian.

We see this in our daily lives in our towns and suburbs, and rather than just merely accepting diversity, we wholeheartedly embrace it as an integral part of our national identity. However, we must remain vigilant and not become complacent; reserving the fundamental values that have fuelled our achievements is imperative.

The foundation of our successful multicultural society is our immigration system. Since coming to government, we have spent significant time and energy cleaning up the mess left to us. We devoted more staff to address the visa backlog, with more than 650 additional staff in visa processing since May 2022. We prioritised key offshore case loads—temporary skilled, and student visitor. So many people who travel to Australia contribute to economic growth and assist with our labour shortages. We will continue to prioritise skill visas in the health and education sectors to help fill critical shortages in both those industries. We have cut processing times for citizenship on average by 34 per cent since we came to government, and 62 per cent of people are now waiting less than three months to attend a ceremony, removing the anxiety and stress of the extended wait.

Those listening would know the Labor Party has always recognised the contribution and value of our diverse and amazing multicultural communities. We are considered one of the most successful multicultural societies in the world, with everyday life in Australia being a melting pot of cultures, experiences, beliefs and traditions. Our success is built on the foundation of 300 different ancestries, from our First Australians to the newest arrivals. That is a consensus among most Australians. The Scanlon social cohesion report in 2023 found that 89 per cent of Australians agree that multiculturalism has been good for Australia and that 85 per cent of Australians agree that immigrants improve Australian society by bringing new ideas and new cultures.

In the 2023-24 budget, the government continued to implement a strengths based approach to build on the success of Australia's cohesive and inclusive multicultural society, including a multicultural framework review to ensure Australian government policy settings and organisational arrangements are fit for purpose in supporting our multicultural society. We have committed $18.2 million to fund community language schools so that more Australian children will have the chance to learn a second language. There was $4.9 million allocated to 61 local multicultural projects to strengthen multicultural communities across the nation and $5.6 million was allocated to 83 projects across Australia in the 2022 round of the Fostering Integration Grants program. The budget also included $20 million for the Adult Migrant English Program, supporting individual English-language learners with flexible delivery of classes and case management.

We see the benefits from multicultural communities every day. Every town, every suburb and every sporting club in our nation has success stories: people who have worked hard and dedicated themselves to establishing a better life. We should celebrate these millions of immigration success stories. Local communities across Australia are reaching out and embracing new members of their communities who have chosen to make Australia their home as they work together to build vibrant and sustainable towns.

Our community of McEwen is no different. Across the electorate, 16 per cent of constituents speak another language at home and 20 per cent were born overseas. We have thriving multicultural communities in our area. They have been recognised. We have a local Sri Lankan Lions Club and Australia's only Sikh Lions Club. My electorate is full of multicultural events and community groups. Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Sri Lankan Association of Mitchell Shire Harmony Day barbecue, organised by Sali and Champi. Indeed, later this year we'll see the Mitchell Multicultural Community Association host another multicultural event, funded in part by our election commitment of $20,000 for this important work. Community events like this bring us together, where we can enjoy delicious food, fantastic entertainment and lovely people.

We are so lucky to live in a bright and beautiful multicultural nation. The Albanese Labor government have upheld their promise to protect that. We know it's pretty easy for others to jump in. Let's refer to the Leader of the Opposition, who said, 'The criminal behaviour of some second- and third-generation Australians is the fault of migrants who came here. It was a mistake to let them in.' That is an appalling statement that should be condemned. What we saw in the Dunkley by-election was that the Liberals ran a dirty text campaign that the deputy opposition leader should resign for, but I guarantee she will be back by the next speaker.

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