Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to take a few moments of the House’s time today to talk about something that people may not know about, or perhaps would not intuitively understand, with regard to my seat of Oxley. One is the issue of spirituality in my electorate; the other is of multiculturalism.

My electorate in Oxley includes the western suburbs of Brisbane and the eastern suburbs of Ipswich, which is part of the great western corridor of Queensland. To represent that area and the people who live there is something I am immensely proud of. One of the things I have learned over almost a decade of representing that region and its people is the great spirituality that exists in the western corridor. I am very proud to represent a people who represent every faith. I have many, many churches of different denominations and descriptions within my electorate, and they are a very accommodating, tolerant, understanding, spiritual community. I am very proud of that. I can say that I have attended nearly every church—I do not know if I have actually got to every single one of them; there are many—in my electorate, and I have found a genuine warmth and understanding in all the denominations of faith. They really do feel that they belong and that they play a role within my electorate. I wanted to put that on the record, because I do not know whether it is something that people would truly understand about the seat of Oxley.

The other issue is multiculturalism, and I want to talk about the role it plays and the way it interlinks with faith and spirituality in my electorate. Multiculturalism in my electorate is, to say the least, immensely diverse and immensely vibrant. In my locality and through the western corridor we have some 140 different cultures represented, and my electorate is very proud to be right in the middle of that. It is a true snapshot, I think, of what Australia is about. It is about the coming together of many different cultures, about all of us together with a common bond. That common bond is the Australian ethos and having Australia as our place of being, a place we all love and share.

In my electorate, I have a very strong Vietnamese community, centred mostly around the suburbs of Darra and Inala but in other places as well, and a very strong and growing Pacific islander community. It is a very diverse community which in recent years has really grown not only in number but, in my view, in stature. The people in that community have really taken on board their new home here in Australia and have made wonderful efforts and great leaps in being part of the community, contributing to the community and playing their role. We are seeing that being done in significant ways by citizenship, by participating in our democracy and by the way they interact with other communities in the area and with me. I am very proud of them. I particularly want to mention the Samoan community today amongst my Pacific islander community because I was honoured by being a guest at their 46th anniversary of independence just recently, which was held over the June long weekend. I had the pleasure of celebrating this milestone not only with my local Samoan community but with the wider Queensland Samoan community. I do not want to spend too much time on this—I will brag for a very short moment—but I have been honoured by the Samoan community with a title, so this is to honour them for the privilege and honour they have given me.

I am now officially a Samoan chief; my title is Taamelalagi. Receiving this honour has truly been one of the highlights of my parliamentary career. It was a very long ceremony. Let me assure you that the Samoans do not cut it halfway when you become a Samoan chief. A number of church services were held and I did have to partake of the kava—

Russell Broadbent (McMillan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Do we have to bow to you?

Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No-one has to bow to me, please—and I have my ceremonial dress and other things. I also want to mention the event that was hosted by President Reverend Setu Faaninira. It was a great day; it was an amazing celebration, in the western corridor, of all things Pacific island and Samoan. They are very proud of their country, but they are very proud of Australia as their new country as well and they are working very hard.

I also want to mention the Samoan community advisory council based in Ipswich and the good work that they do. They have recently received a $20,000 mental health grant from the federal government. I am proud of that and of the work they have done to establish that and assist people within their own community.

In wrapping up, I am very proud not only of the spirituality but also of the multiculturalism of my electorate and I will continue to represent them well. (Time expired)