Bruce Baird (Cook, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight, Mr Deputy Speaker, and I thank my colleagues also for their assistance tonight. I wish to inform the House of recent developments in strengthening relationships between Sydney’s Lebanese community and the Sutherland shire. Since the disturbing incidents in Cronulla last December, a great deal of progress has been made to build bridges between these two groups. Immediately after the riots and subsequent revenge attacks, I set up the intercommunity dialogue. This group comprises representatives of surf lifesaving clubs, businesses and community groups in the Sutherland shire, and representatives of the Lebanese community and harmony officers from the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. This group oversees and develops a range of strategies and programs aimed at breaking down cultural barriers and building mutual respect and understanding.

A major facet of this approach is the On the Same Wave project, a partnership between Surf Life Saving Australia, Sutherland Shire Council and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs. The program aims to enhance awareness of surf lifesaving and beach safety amongst the multicultural community and increase the capacity of surf lifesaving to diversify its membership. In practice, commencing the project has involved extensive consultation with council youth workers, community leaders, targeted schools, youth centres and PCYCs, government departments and Islamic associations. Project officers have conducted focus groups with young people to ascertain their views on the incidents in December as well as feelings about surf lifesaving and beach culture.

Some key points have been taken from this research. Firstly, to address the underlying problems that have brought about this project, some groups need to be engaged away from the beach environment, particularly some Muslim women’s groups. As a result, women-only CPR courses will be conducted in November. I applaud Surf Life Saving New South Wales for responding so quickly to this concern because it is important to engage with young people and all communities in a way that is culturally appropriate. The project is in the process of developing cultural awareness training for officers and lifesavers initially in the four clubs at Cronulla, to ensure that surf lifesaving is open to diversity. It is hoped that this training will eventually be used in all clubs around New South Wales and nationally. The project will work with culturally diverse groups at the beach. It will also take young people from beach areas out of their comfort zones and expose them to new environments. I believe that when we get young people from the surf environment together with young people from other cultural backgrounds, we will begin to overcome some of the stereotypes that these young people may harbour.

I would like to acknowledge the very good work of Vanessa Brown and Suzie Stollznow from Surf Life Saving New South Wales, who are doing an admirable job in driving this project. I would also like to thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, Mr Robb, whose very keen and ongoing support and interest in this project has been invaluable. I am also very pleased to say that the Muslim community have been highly complimentary of the role of Mr Robb in attempting to understand the challenges that face the community and the problems that beset them day by day, especially with a group that feel themselves marginalised within the Australian community.

There is little doubt that almost a year after the appalling scenes at Cronulla and throughout the shire on subsequent nights, significant and positive steps have been made to ensure that no similar episodes are likely to occur in the future. We are addressing the very root of the sentiments expressed on those occasions in the wider community.

Problems to do with race related violence in my electorate have in the most part been caused by simple fear and ignorance. I believe that by building cultural awareness and understanding amongst people of the Sutherland shire these sorts of problems can be eliminated altogether. By building a strong and open rapport with those who visit our beaches, whether they be Lebanese, Vietnamese or Sudanese, and by diversifying activities like surf lifesaving, we will find that residents and visitors alike will be on the same wave.

I would like to particularly congratulate those people involved in this dialogue—the Sutherland council and the mayor; Mr Robert Redfern, the area commander of the police; the president of the Sharks, Mr Barry Pierce; the presidents of the four surf clubs in my area; Surf Life Saving Australia; the Lebanese Christian association; and the Lebanese Islamic association—for their very positive approach to addressing the problems that have developed between the two communities. We are working on it positively and we hope that by the anniversary of these unfortunate events in Cronulla we will have a positive outcome in the community which will be an example for the rest of Australia.